Hearts of the Mermaid Princesses
by D.M.Ash
Summary: Gaito's not the only threat to the Mermaid Princesses, now that the Heartless have somehow entered their world. A Keyblade organization called the Keypers sends one of their own to protect them, but will that be enough? A Kingdom Hearts x MMPPP fic
1. Awakening

Hearts of the Mermaid Princesses

A Kingdom Hearts x Mermaid Melody story

Chapter 1 – Awakening

_Flashback – a certain place in another world_

"Wait, why only me?!" A seventeen year old boy asked. A male of average height, with short black hair that seemed to fan out going down from the boy's head, and brown eyes, which happened to be able to change from brown to red or blue by the boy's will. Wearing mostly all black, with black jeans and an open black dress shirt, only having a plain brown t-shirt underneath, his clothes would probably be the only thing that made him stand out from anyone else.

The boy was standing in front of a desk, where the person behind it, a man who looked like he was in his late twenties, with short brown hair that had a small ponytail behind his head, and green eyes that were behind a pair of thin-rimmed glasses. He was wearing what looked like a black business suit that made him look purely professional. The man replied, "I thought that you would be able to handle it by yourself Attis."

"…I can, but from what you just told me, it sounded quite important, especially if it involves Kingdom Hearts Halit, sir." The boy now known as Attis said. His superior, Halit, told him, "That's why we can only send you for now. If we sent in a group of Keybladers, it would attract the Heartless' attention due to the Keyblades. If they do somehow find out, then that world would be in serious danger. Also, you've been going on solo missions for the past few years now, even on some 'suicide' missions even. It pretty much-."

"Okay, okay, I get it." Attis replied, cutting him off. Halit nodded and handed Attis a few papers saying, "Here are the details of the world you're going to. If you want, you can tell some of you're friends where you're going, like those two-."

"No, I'll leave ASAP." Attis told him, cutting him off again, this time with a hint of bitterness in his voice. Halit grew concerned for that and said, "You know, talking about it-."

Attis gave Halit a look and said, "I'm fine, really Halit. It really doesn't bother me anymore."

A sigh came out of Halit as he said, "If you say so Attis. I'm just worried about you, you know." As Attis read the papers over he said, "I know Halit."

While reading the papers Attis came across a certain part and couldn't believe what was on it. He said, "They defeat their foes by singing?! What the heck is this?"

Halit laughed and said, "I know, I found it hard to believe at first also, but I guess that's how their world works."

Attis finished reading it and said, "Okay, so let me get this straight. This world has seven mermaid princesses, and the sages speculate that they could be like the Princesses of Heart, and may be able to open Kingdom Hearts. They have a water goddess named Aqua Regina protecting them, but it may not be enough if the Heartless somehow reach the world. My job is to seal the keyhole so the Heartless won't be able enter that world as well as protect the Mermaid Princesses, if possible. Have I gotten everything down, or is there something I'm missing?"

"Nope, that's pretty much the gist of it." Halit said. Attis nodded and said, "Okay then, I guess I better get going."

"Hope the mission goes well." Halit said to him. That's when Attis summoned his two Keyblades, Solaris and Lunaria, two Keyblades that were seemingly modeled after the sun and the moon, in his hands and gave a salute with Solaris saying, "I'll make sure to complete it Halit." With that he dematerialized his Keyblades and left the room.

* * *

_Present time – a beach city in Japan_

"…And that was ten years ago, from what I can remember." Attis whispered to himself.

Attis was walking along a road near the nearby beach thinking to himself. The reason for this is because of what happened to him, something that he's currently trying to find out, with not much luck.

About a week ago he found himself in the hospital, with minor wounds all over his body, and he had no idea how they got there. In fact, when he woke up, he didn't remember much of anything. The doctors who came in said that he was suffering from amnesia, and a minor concussion, with the only thing he remembered at the time was his own name.

Fortunately for him, he started to remember everything about his past, like how he was a member of the Keyblade organization, Keypers, among other things. The only thing that he couldn't remember was what he was doing ten years ago. He remembers how he arrived, and at the end he was involved in a battle and how he got to this time period, but nothing else. Everything in between, and even the battle he was in, Attis found them to be a blur.

Now he was wandering around a seaside town, where the hospital he was in was located. He just passed a place called Pearl Piari, when he looked at the water and thought, 'What am I going to do now? I don't have anyway of contacting them, now that my communicator is somehow broken, not to mention that I'm ten years into the future.'

Attis just shook his head when he bumped into someone, sending the both of them falling to the floor. He rubbed his head and said, "Ow, sorry about that."

"Nah, it's okay." A male voice replied. Attis got up and saw that it was a male surfer a few years younger than him, with orange hair that spiked downwards. He was in a surfing suit and had a surfboard with him as well. The guy got up and said, "Sorry, I wasn't paying attention back there."

"I guess that makes two of us." Attis said. Then he held out his hand and said, "I'm Attis Hale, what's your name?"

The guy replied, "Kaito Doumoto, it's nice to meet you Attis." The two shook hands and Attis said, "Well, I guess I'll see you around Doumoto-san."

"Please, call me Kaito. Being called that by someone around my age just sounds weird." Kaito told him. Attis nodded and said, "Then call me Attis. I'm not much for formalities myself unless they're necessary."

Kaito nodded and asked, "Do you live around here Attis?" Attis thought about it for a bit before he replied, "Yeah, I do, I guess. I just came out of the nearby hospital a few days ago, so I'm just getting acquainted with the neighborhood."

"I see…" Kaito said. Then he took off saying, "Well, it was nice to meet you Attis! I'll see you later!"

"Yeah, see you later." Attis replied as Kaito took off. He thought to himself, 'He was sure nice.' That's when Kaito suddenly called him from behind and shouted, "You should come back here tomorrow! There's a surfing competition that's going to take place!"

Attis thought about it and then shouted back, "Sure, I'll be here!" Kaito nodded and continued to run off to the beach. Attis seemed to agree at the thought of watching the surfing competition, and decided to stare at the ocean for a while, trying to sort out his thoughts and memories that seemed to be jumbled a bit.

About fifteen minutes of just standing there, lost in his thoughts, he heard a voice say, "Um, excuse me, are you alright?"

Attis snapped out of it and turned around to the source of the voice. What he saw was a young girl with shoulder-length dirty blond hair and brown eyes, wearing a red and white t-shirt, a jean skirt, and leather boots looking at him. Beside her was a penguin in some kind of sailor clothing along with a hat. He raised an eyebrow at that as Attis replied, "Oh, I'm fine. I was just lost in thought, nothing to worry about."

"Oh, I see. Sorry to bother you." The girl said, and she ran off with the penguin behind her before Attis could say anything. One thing he did notice was the shell necklace that was on the girl's neck and thought, 'Hmm, I wonder, could she be related to the Mermaid Princesses? I did hear that they wore shell necklaces that held their pearls. Maybe this mission isn't a bust after all…'

Attis walked away from the beach and decided to head back to his apartment. Attis was lucky that he had a lot of money on him, partly thanks to the Keypers, which he was able to rent an apartment for the time being, which was only a few days ago. The only thing he had to worry about now was getting a job to support himself while trying to see if his mission was still valid, despite being stranded in a different timeframe in the world he was in.

Back at his apartment, Attis tried to bring out Solaris and Lunaria, but for some reason, the two Keyblades wouldn't materialize. To make matters even worse, most of his spells and abilities were somehow sealed and couldn't perform them. He found out that he was only able to use four basic spells, Blizzard, Thunder, Fire, and Cure, after trying to cast them a few days ago. Attis was glad that he was able to defend himself somehow if the Heartless did attack, but wondered why he couldn't materialize his two Keyblades.

Attis tried summoning a few more times before he gave up and got changed before going to sleep. He wondered about the surfing competition, as well as the two people that he met earlier. Attis thoughts occupied his mind for a while, before he finally fell into slumber, with his last thoughts were, 'How did something like this happen?'

* * *

The next day Attis was in a lighter wear, still wearing black jeans but sporting a loose white t-shirt. He walked towards the beach and he saw Kaito heading towards the steps down to the beach. Kaito saw him and said, "Hey Attis, glad you could make it!"

Attis nodded and said, "So, this is the surfing competition huh? It's bigger than I thought." Kaito told him, "Nah, compared to others, this one's pretty small." The two of them walked down the stairs as Attis said, "So, anything special that I should watch out for?"

"Yeah, when I blow the competition away!" Kaito replied with confidence. Attis just smirked at that when he heard a voice say, "How about we play around after the competition?"

The two turned to see two guys harassing a pair of girls, one of which Attis recognized as the girl he met last night while staring out at the ocean. Kaito immediately walked towards them, with Attis walking behind, noticing the small scowl on Kaito's face.

When one of the guy's put his hand on the girl with the dirty-blond hair, Kaito instantly twisted the guy's other arm back, forcing him to let go. Attis looked on with interest as the guy's friend said, "It's last year's champion!" The two of them looked extremely sheepish as the guy said, "They're with you? Sorry!" They walked off making Attis smile a bit at how Kaito handled the whole thing.

That's when Kaito winked at the girl with the dirty blond hair and said, "Those clothes look pretty cute, though I like racy ones more!" At that Attis couldn't help but stifle a laugh, making it sound like a cough. That's when the dirty-blond haired girl saw him and said, "Ah! You're that guy that was staring out at the ocean last night!"

The girl with the blue hair beside her raised an eyebrow, while Kaito asked, "You know each other Attis?"

Attis answered that by saying, "Not exactly, she went up to me while I was looking at the ocean last night." The girl got a bit embarrassed at the memory as Attis held out his hand and said, "My name's Attis Hale, but you can call me Attis. I'm not too fond of formalities."

The girl with the dirty-blond hair shook his hand and said, "I'm Lucia Nanami, it's a pleasure to meet you. You can call me Lucia." The girl with blue hair shook his hand also saying, "My name is Hanon Hoshou, and you can call me Hanon. It's nice to meet you Attis-san."

Suddenly the four of them heard an announcement that called all of the surfing participants, and Kaito winked at Lucia and said, "Then, I'll let you see a cool show!" He turned to Attis and said, "I'll see you later Attis."

Attis just waved while Lucia and Hanon talked to themselves. They said something but he didn't pay any attention to it as he took a look at the ocean. As he turned to face the girls, Hanon couldn't help but think, 'He's quite cute.'

That's when Hanon asked, "Um, Attis-san, how do you know Kaito-kun?" Attis focused his attention on her and replied, "The two of us met when we practically bumped into each other around here last night. He invited me to come and watch."

Lucia raised an eyebrow at that while Attis asked, "What about the two of you?" Hanon answered that in reply, "We're his classmates, and she has a thing for Kaito-kun." She nodded her head to Lucia, who said, "I do not!"

Attis found the scene a bit amusing when they heard the announcer proclaim the start of the competition. Everyone around went quiet and turned to the ocean to watch the surfers. Even though Attis knew of the sport, he found it quite interesting to watch people surf when it wasn't on a screen.

Sometime later it was Kaito's turn to surf, which left an impression on Lucia as Kaito rode the waves. Attis however, noticed that Kaito was wearing something around his neck and squinted his eyes to look at it. He whispered, "What is…that…? Something…pink?"

Hanon overheard Attis and asked, "Something wrong Attis-san?"

Attis shook his head and replied, "No, it's nothing." Then he noticed Lucia looked like she was in a trance and whispered, "Lucia-san looks like she's in a trance, doesn't she?" Hanon looked over to Lucia and giggled saying, "Yes, she does, doesn't she?"

That's when Lucia shouted, "Awesome!" Hanon agreed with her saying, "As I expected…he's pretty cool!" Attis just smiled when he suddenly felt a wave of odd energy come from Kaito's direction.

Hanon noticed something else and said, "That wave…!" Suddenly a second wave appeared from behind Kaito and sent him under. Lucia was shocked and shouted, "Kaito!"

Attis was also shocked as he heard the announcer say, "He didn't come back up…" Then the announcer proceeded to call the rescue squad as Attis felt that something was very wrong. All of a sudden, storm clouds had suddenly come in and the ocean started to get rough very fast, which made the announcer tell everyone to take shelter from the storm.

The three of them were standing there when Attis noticed something small and black move through the trees that were nearby. On instinct, he ran towards it, making Hanon shout, "Attis-san?!" A moment later, Lucia ran forward towards the ocean, and Hanon tried to stop her, but the wind prevented her from stopping her.

As Attis reached the small patch of forest that was near the ocean, he saw that there were Heartless jumping into the ocean and thought, 'Heartless, knew that this storm wasn't a coincidence, but I don't thing they're the reason for it though.' He shook his head and focused on materializing two things into his hands. One was a black cloak that the Keypers manage to replicate from Organization XIII's cloaks. It had an added property that allowed Attis to swim through the water like he was flying on air. The other thing that materialized was a plain white mask that had no features except glassed eye slits. That would allow Attis to be able to breathe underwater, thanks to it's enchantment.

Quickly putting on both garments, Attis threw a Fire spell at one of the Heartless, a Shadow, and it quickly exploded, releasing a heart into the air. He thought, 'Even without my Keyblades and most of my magic, I'll still fight these things head on!'

Suddenly a voice called out to him shouting, "Please, wait a moment!"

Attis thought he was hallucinating for a moment when a memory came back to him and he slowly said, "Aqua…Regina…?"

"Yes…it is I. I don't have much power now…so all I can do for you is this…" That's when a light flashed before Attis and floating right in front of him was a Keyblade. Attis took in the details of the Keyblade and saw that the Keyblade's key guard was square with rounded edges, wavy and aqua blue, with the handle being a navy blue. The blade part was somewhat wide, yet a bit thin, and it had eight holes the size of pearls that started from the bottom. At the end of the key was a green ball that had two small white wings on it, something that he found familiar.

Attis was about to as a question when a Shadow leaped at him and tried to attack him. On reflex, he grabbed the Keyblade and whacked the Shadow with it, causing it to disperse and turn into black mist. Aqua Regina's voice spoke to him again saying, "The Keyblade's name is Aqualis… Please protect…the Mermaid Princesses…warrior Attis…"

"…It's my job." Attis said with confidence. That's when the other Shadows, as well as a few Soldiers, were making their way up to them and Attis said, "Time to slice and dice!"

A few minutes later, Attis managed to disperse all of the Heartless that attacked him, even though it took him a while to get back into the fighting groove. He thought, 'I guess spending time in the hospital with amnesia can do that to you.'

That's when Attis ran to the ocean and jumped into it. After getting over the initial shock of the strange feeling of 'flying' in the water, he heard a distant melody of a song that jogged a memory. He said, "Legend of…Mermaid?" However, he didn't have time to think about it when a few Soldiers, having webbed hands and feet, came at him and Attis retaliated with a few Blizzard spells.

When he quickly dispatched the soldiers, Attis heard the melody fade, just as he saw a group of Heartless Soldiers swim off to a certain direction. He inwardly spat and swam off after them, thinking, 'If I remember from the report, the Heartless are attracted to the Mermaid Princesses when they release the powers of their pearls. Like a beacon of sorts, I guess.'

Meanwhile, Lucia turned back into her mermaid form, where she had long, blond hair that was in two pigtail and blue eyes, along with a pink mermaid tail. She managed to grab Kaito, when the Heartless group showed up. She was shocked to see them and said, "What? What the heck are these things?!"

One of the Soldiers tried to swipe at Lucia and she barely managed to dodge it. She thought, 'I need to turn back into my idol form again!' The Soldiers weren't giving her any chances as Lucia kept trying to dodge attack after attack while trying to protect Kaito. One of the Soldiers managed to get in front of her and she instinctively protected him thinking, 'I'm sorry Kaito…'

That's when a Blizzard spell, in the form of an ice javelin, pierced the Heartless that was about to attack, causing it to disperse and release it's heart. The Soldiers were stunned and Lucia opened her eyes to see Attis, hooded and with his mask on, holding Aqualis like he just shot something. She asked, "W-who are you?!"

Attis, meanwhile took in her features, and instantly noticed her shell necklace thinking, 'No way, is that Lucia? So she's a Mermaid Princess huh? Looks quite different from her human form in some aspects but the report did say something about it.'

One of the Soldiers snapped out of it and tried to attack Lucia again, but Attis managed to reach her in time and forced back the Soldier with the blow. He said in a voice that the mask made a bit deeper, "Take the boy and get away, I'll handle this."

"B-but, who are you?" Lucia asked, a bit confused by what's going on. Attis sighed as he fired off another Blizzard spell at a couple of Soldiers that tried to attack and replied, "If we meet again, I'll try to explain to you then. But you need to get out of here now!"

Lucia immediately nodded at that and quickly swam off towards the surface. The Heartless tried to go after her but Attis cut them off with a few Blizzard spells saying, "Your opponent's right here!"

The Soldiers immediately turned their attention to Attis and the fight went on as Attis used a mixture of Keyblade strikes and magic. He found that fighting underwater was a bit more difficult but eventually won out against the Soldiers. With all of them dispersed, Attis cast a Cure spell on himself before he looked at Aqualis and thought, 'Thank you very much Aqua Regina. Though I am curious how she managed to create a Keyblade…'

That's when a tiny ball of light appeared before him and Aqua Regina's voice came from it saying, "I am very grateful for your help warrior Attis. As for how I created the Keyblade, it's thanks to this…"

A shell necklace came out of the ball of light and Attis managed to catch it. Taking a closer look he saw that it looked just like Lucia's, except it was red where the pink would be. He opened it up and found a pearl of the same color inside. Aqua Regina explained, "It is said that a pearl is also known as a mermaid's heart, and that pearl was in my possession. I used it's power to create that Keyblade, and I give this pearl to you for safekeeping… Don't worry, that pearl can't be detected by any means…"

Attis had a confused look on his face as he pocketed the shell, and Aqua Regina said, "I am sorry about your memories and abilities warrior Attis. I tried to restore them with what power I had, but…"

"It's okay," Attis interrupted, "Thanks to that I managed to remember the important parts. The only thing missing is what happened ten years ago, along with that battle and how I ended up here…"

"All I can say is that it will take time…" Aqua Regina replied, "I am weak right now, so I won't be able to help you as much. I am sorry…" With that the ball of light faded before Attis could say anything else. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the red shell necklace and said to himself, "Things just keep on getting more and more complicated."

Attis pocketed the necklace again and made his way to the surface. When he was back on land, Attis was thankful that the cloak had the other property of drying off every part of his body when he was on land. Looking around, he saw Lucia and Kaito together at the nearby beach, and quickly went into the nearby bushes to hide.

Peeping wasn't something Attis was very fond of, but he was curious about why the two were together and Lucia was still in her mermaid form. As he watched the scene Attis couldn't help but sigh, until he saw Lucia's penguin and Hanon standing on top of a few rocks some distance away. Attis saw that Hanon had something in her hand and squinted to see what it was. He couldn't see what it was though but judging by the lack of surprise on Hanon's face, Attis figured that she was either a mermaid, or a human that knew about mermaids.

With finding hiding in the bushes starting to get boring and a bit painful, Attis made his way out of the bushes and back to the city, trying to move as quietly as possible. However, his departure wasn't completely unnoticed as Hanon saw the back of his hood before it vanished into the forest. She thought, '…What was that?' That's when Hippo asked, "Is something wrong Hanon-san?"

Hanon shook her head and replied, "No, nothing's wrong…"

Attis managed to change and make Aqualis disappear before appearing out in the open. The necklace was still in his pocket as he headed back to his apartment. He thought to himself, 'At least I know where two of the princesses are. From what I can recall, there are seven in total, so where are the others? And the Heartless too, something's up with them…'

Attis shook his head and made his way back to his apartment. That's when a sudden thought came to him, 'Oh no, now that I'm cut off from Keypers HQ, that means that I need to find a job to support the rent!' This left him quite startled as he continued to walk.

* * *

Note: Just to say, I considered putting this in the crossover section, but considering how the main focus is on Mermaid Melody, I decided against it, for now. On another note, the Kingdom Hearts portion will mostly consist of the Heartless, most of characters will be OCs only. Just something to let everyone know, and I'll clarify something after this story is finished.


	2. Job Explanation

Chapter 2 – Job Explanation

_Pearl Piari – Lucia's room_

After the whole encounter, Lucia had told Hippo, her penguin, and Nikora, a mermaid posing as Lucia's older sister, what had happened to her earlier. She was quite surprised to find that Hanon was a Mermaid Princess when Hippo told her. That's when she went on with her story and said, "Anyway, when the person that held Kaito captive had disappeared, these strange black creatures came after me and tried to attack us. Then this person in a black cloak and white mask appeared and saved me and Kaito, using a weapon that looked like a giant key of sorts."

At that last part both Hippo and Nikora looked at each other for a moment before Hippo asked, "Lucia, are you sure that the weapon looked like a giant key?"

Lucia thought about it for a second, before she replied, "I'm pretty sure it looked like a bit key, though the little white wings at the end were so cute! Why, is something the matter?"

That's when Nikora got up and said, "Lucia, I thought it would be a bit too early to tell you this, but with what's been happening…" Lucia was a bit confused and asked, "What is it?"

Nikora turned to the window and looked out to the sea as she replied, "Lately, there's been one calamity after another hitting the Mermaid Kingdoms…" Lucia tried to understand what Nikora was telling her but she said, "Calamity?"

A nod came from Nikora as she went on, "Like the storm when you came to the surface, and that incident at the surfing competition…" Hippo added to that, "And Hanon-san appearing too, right?"

"…I guess so." Nikora said. She turned to Lucia and told her, "Although I don't know all the details now, we seemed to have lost contact with most of the Mermaid Kingdoms…" Lucia was a bit shocked at that as Nikora said, "That's why you, and the other Mermaid Princesses, must call out for Aqua Regina-sama, the goddess of the seas."

Lucia found the information a bit hard to take in as she said, "Hanon and I have to…call Aqua Regina-sama?" Then she went on to say, "But what about that person with the giant key thingy and those black creatures?"

Nikora gave a sigh and asked, "Lucia, do you remember the story of what happened ten years ago?" Lucia thought about it for a moment, and it came back to her and she said, "Oh, I remember! It's one of the stories that I liked! If I remember, Aqua Regina-sama and the previous Mermaid Princesses defeated a great evil with the help of a man from the surface! I can't remember all the details but I found that story to be really interesting!"

Hippo then told her, "Lucia, the man in that story also wielded a giant key. Actually he had two of them!" Lucia's eyes widened as Hippo went on, "From what I could remember of the story, they say that the man came from another world to help us in fighting off these dark entities called Heartless. The weapons he wielded were called Keyblades and were extremely effective against these strange creatures. But from what I remember, the man vanished during the final battle, and he hasn't been seen since."

Lucia nodded and asked, "Did the man ever wear a white mask?" Hippo thought about it and replied, "I can't seem to remember. Nevertheless, the person that saved you from the Heartless is most likely our ally."

Lucia just nodded again as Nikora said, "Well, all we can do is make sure that we keep an eye out for future threats. Good night Lucia."

Nikora walked over to the door, as Lucia replied, "Good night Onee-chan." Nikora gave out a smile and left the room, with Hippo following behind her. Lucia went over to her bed and sat down on it, thinking of everything that happened before she went to sleep.

* * *

_Beachside – road_

The next day, Attis was going around town, looking for places to work. He wasn't having much luck with it though, and he was now walking down the road that was beside the ocean. He sighed and thought, 'Damn, didn't think it would be that difficult…'

That's when Attis saw a nearby shop on the beach up ahead and saw that it was open. Looking at it for a bit, he said to himself, "Well, might as well go in for a break."

Attis walked over and went into the shop, and took in the details. It looked like a rest spot on the beach that looked like a mixture of a seaside restaurant and a bar. The place had a quaint feel that seemed to make Attis feel better.

After looking around for a bit he decided to sit at the bar, and the person standing there asked, "What would you like?" Attis looked at the menu above and replied, "A…mango smoothie, I guess."

"Coming right up." The man replied, starting to prepare the drink. Attis just stared off into space as the smoothie was prepared and brought to Attis, with the man saying, "Here you go." Then he noticed Attis just staring off into space and the man asked, "Are you alright sir?"

"Eh?" Attis snapped out of it and replied, "Oh, yes I'm fine, just having some troubles, that's all. Thank you very much, uh…?"

The man smiled and said, "You can call me Maki. I run this whole seaside restaurant." Attis smiled back at him and said, "I'm Attis Hale, but just Attis is just fine. Thank you for the drink Maki-san."

As Attis drunk the smoothie through the straw Maki looked at him and asked, "If you don't mind me asking, what troubles are you having Attis-san?" Attis stopped drinking the smoothie and replied, "Oh, it's nothing much, just having trouble finding a job, that's all. It's taking most of the day too…"

While Attis went back to drinking his smoothie, Maki was busy looking at him with a judging look on his face. Then he asked, "Attis-san, how old are you?"

"Um…I'm seventeen…" Attis replied, pulling away from his smoothie. Then Maki asked another question, "You're not in school right now, are you?" Attis' answer was, "No, I'm not…"

That's when Maki looked him in the eye and asked him, "Well, how about you work here? Full-time even." Attis was caught off guard by the proposition and asked, "A-are you sure about this Maki-san? I mean, we only just met…"

Maki smiled at Attis and said, "I happen to be a good judge of character, and you look like you were in trouble. Not to mention that my last waiter had to quit due to moving issues." A grateful smile formed on Attis' face as he said, "Thank you very much Maki-san. When do I start?"

"Tomorrow, so be here around ten, that's when the place opens." Maki told him. Attis finished with his smoothie and paid for it. He got up and before he left Attis said, "Again, thank you very much Maki-san, you don't know how much this means to me."

Maki just smiled as he watched Attis leave the restaurant. Outside Attis sighed a breath of relief and thought, 'At least I'm financially stable for now…how lucky, I think.' Attis walked away from the restaurant feeling a bit at ease.

A few minutes later, Attis ran into Kaito with him shouting, "Hey, Kaito!" Kaito turned around to see Attis walking up to him. Kaito said, "Oh, Attis! Glad to see that you're alright!"

"I can say the same for you! When I tried to come back to the beach after that freak storm, I couldn't find you, Lucia-san, or Hanon-san." Attis told him. Kaito assured him, "Don't worry about them, they're fine. I saw them at school earlier."

Suddenly, a thought came to Kaito and he asked, "Attis, are you going to the festival tonight?"

A confused look formed on Attis' face as he asked, "Festival?" From the tone Kaito heard, Attis didn't know about it, so he explained, "There's a festival going on tonight at the nearby park. You should go, since from the look you had on your face earlier looked like you were stressed."

Attis thought about it for a moment before he replied, "Hmm, I guess I should. Thanks for telling me Kaito." Kaito just nodded and replied, "No problem Attis."

With that, Kaito nodded at him and walked off with a wave, leaving Attis by himself. He was standing there thinking, 'I guess I should check it out. There's no harm in it, from what I can see, and the Heartless don't seem to be making any moves at the moment. Let's just hope the night goes smoothly.'

* * *

_Evening – festival_

Later that night, Attis managed to find the place where the festival was taking place. He toured the various stands, trying out a few things here and there. As Attis moved on he thought to himself, 'It's been a while since I've seen a festival like this one.'

Attis started to space out in thought, and that's when he walked right into someone, making him fall back a bit. He managed to stay standing and saw that he ran into a man wearing a tan colored shirt and jeans, who happened to fall back. Attis held out his hand to the man saying, "I'm so sorry about that sir."

"It's alright." The man replied, grabbing Attis' hand and Attis pulled him back to his feet. Taking a better look at the man, Attis saw that he had short dark brown hair with matching eyes. Attis took that chance to apologize again and said, "I'm really sorry about that sir, I sorta spaced out for a moment while I was walking."

The man dusted himself off as he said, "Don't worry about it." As the two came eye to eye Attis held out his hand and said, "I'm Attis Hale by the way, but you can just call me Attis. What about you?"

"Taro Mitsuki, it's a pleasure to meet you Attis-san." Taro replied, shaking Attis' hand. That's when Taro took a closer look at Attis and asked, "Excuse me, but, have we met before?"

Attis had no idea what Taro was talking about and replied, "Sorry Mitsuki-san. I don't think we have." Taro looked a bit embarrassed at that as he said, "Oh really? Sorry about that then." He nodded and said, "Well, it was nice meeting you Attis-san."

"You too Mitsuki-san." Attis said, as he watched Taro walk away into the crowd. Attis went on thinking, 'I really need to stop bumping into people like that.'

A few minutes later, Attis managed to finish looking around the place. He felt a bit tired, but at the same time, felt a bit better for some reason. As Attis sad down on a nearby bench, he remembered seeing Hanon earlier but she ran off before Attis could call out to her. He didn't mind, but took note of the shell necklace that was around her neck, which looked like Lucia's but it was an Aqua color instead. Attis thought, 'Well, I guess Hanon's a Mermaid Princess too, since the report said that those shells were one-of-a-kind.'

Suddenly Attis saw Kaito and Lucia running, which made him whisper to himself, "What's with those two?" All of a sudden, he had a bad feeling which made him get up quickly. Out of the corner of his eye, Attis thought he saw something move slowly, following Kaito and Lucia. Quietly, he managed to slip into the trees without anyone noticing him.

After putting on his cloak and mask, Attis tracked down the thing that was following the two and recognized it as a Shadow. He quickly materialized Aqualis, which caught the Shadow's attention and made it turn around and form itself. Before it had the chance to attack however, Attis quickly smashed Aqualis down upon it, making it dissipate like smoke. He thought to himself, 'I don't see any other Heartless… Well, might as well trail the two to make sure nothing else happens.'

Attis quietly followed the trail that Kaito and Lucia ran on until he saw the two standing together looking at the ocean. He quietly hid himself as he listened to the conversation between them.

When Kaito started to ask about Lucia's necklace, he couldn't help but think, 'Man, those things sure make it obvious, doesn't it?' All of a sudden, Lucia started to sing what Attis recognized as Legend of Mermaid, but with Lucia all nervous and flustered, the song didn't sound quite good. Knowing how it was probably going to end, Attis quickly withdrew from the scene and made his way back to the festival grounds.

Taking off his mask, Attis took out the necklace that held the Red Pearl from his pocket and thought, 'Seven Mermaid Princesses, but eight pearls, I wonder what the story is behind this.' All of a sudden he heard an echoing voice shouting, "Let me go!" Attis looked around and said, "That sounded like Hanon-san just now!" He looked around until Attis' eyes fell upon the ocean and said, "From the ocean? But how?" Then his eyes fell on the necklace and thought, 'Is it because of the pearl? Is that why Aqua Regina gave it to me?'

Attis shook his head and quickly put the necklace back in his pocket, while putting on the mask again. With that he made his way to the ocean and dived in. By the time he reached the source, he already saw that Lucia was in her idol form, but the mermaid he recognized as Hanon, who had longer, lighter blue wavy hair and blue eyes was held by some weird seaweed. In between them Attis saw a woman with black wings, long brown dreadlocks for hair with a bandana over it, and had yellow eyes. Wearing a black tank top with a matching skirt, he thought, 'Must be a water demon. I'd better keep an eye out for any Heartless…'

Deciding to let Lucia handle everything, Attis went over and hid himself in a bundle of seaweed, thinking, 'I'll jump in if things really get out of hand.'

Attis watched as Lucia started to sing Legend of Mermaid, but unfortunately, it wasn't affecting Eriru, the water demon's name Attis managed to hear, and she started firing jet blasts at Lucia. Attis almost considered going in there and helping her when he saw Hanon reach for Eriru's bandana and yank it off, which also made her lose her control over the seaweed, freeing Hanon.

Continuing to watch, Attis saw Hanon transform into her Idol form and join Lucia in a duet singing Legend of Mermaid. Watching, he saw Eriru spin around in pain, which he found a bit odd. He thought to himself, 'Seeing it first hand, it still looks weird, but I guess I can't complain. If someone saw me whacking creatures of darkness with an overgrown key they'd be skeptical too.' That's when the song finished and Eriru somehow vanished, with Lucia and Hanon celebrating their victory.

That didn't last long as Heartless started to appear and surround Lucia and Hanon. With the Heartless consisting of aquatic Soldiers and Screwdivers Lucia and Hanon started to freak out with Hanon shouting, "What the heck are these things?!"

Lucia recognized the Soldiers as she said, "I-I think these things are those Heartless that Hippo told me about."

"Heartless?! You mean that story's real?!" Hanon shouted, as one of the Soldiers tried to attack them, but the Live Stage deflected the attack. Lucia saw that and sighed in relief saying, "Whew, at least the Live Stage will protect us."

A moment later a Screwdiver tried to attack with it's spear, but that strike got deflected too, but it left a crack in the Live Stage. Hanon shouted, "It won't protect us forever, and our songs won't work against them either!"

"What, why?!" Lucia asked in a panic as another Screwdiver tried to attack. Hanon replied, "From what I heard from the story, our songs can weaken the Heartless, but it won't defeat them fully. Only a weapon or a Keyblade can defeat them."

"But the only things we have are our E-Pitches!" Lucia said. She and Hanon started to panic as more cracks started to appear. That's when Attis' voice shouted out, "Blizzard!" and from out of nowhere, a Blizzard spell hit one of the Screwdivers, the block of ice hitting it in the back, stunning it.

The other Heartless, as well as Lucia and Hanon, turned to the source and saw Attis swimming towards them. As he approached Attis said to himself, "Note to self, never hide in seaweed." Holding Aqualis in his hand, he made a swipe at one of the Soldiers and sent in flying back a bit. He made a path towards the two princesses and asked, "Are the two of you alright?"

As Hanon was in a bit of a shock at what just happened, Lucia looked at him and said, "I know you; you saved me and Kaito the other day!"

"The one and only Pink Princess." Attis replied in his modified voice, blocking a Screwdiver's attack and kicking it back. Hanon seemed to snap out of it and pointed to Attis asking, "Who the heck is that?"

"He's the person that saved me from the Heartless the other day." Lucia replied. Hanon just nodded until she noticed Aqualis and said, "Is that a Keyblade? Wow, it looks so pretty!"

Attis heard Hanon's remark and just smirked from behind his mask as he defeated another Soldier, releasing it's heart in the process. He asked the two, "Can the two of you get away?"

Lucia shook her head and replied, "It's no good, there's too many of them." Attis made a noise and said, "Well, I guess I the only way is to get rid of them." He shot a Blizzard spell at a Soldier, and the block of ice hit it, and encased it in ice. Looking around, he saw that there were only five Screwdivers and three Soldiers left out of the twelve that appeared all together.

As Attis went on to engage them, Lucia and Hanon just stood there and watched in awe as the Heartless were defeated one by one. The two continued to watch as Attis finished off the last Screwdiver with a smash to the head with Aqualis. The Heartless vanished in a flash, with a heart flying out of it and out of site.

Attis looked around, waiting to see if anymore Heartless would appear, but nothing happened. Then he turned to Lucia and Hanon and said, "Well, everything seems to be clear Princesses."

There was a moment of silence before Attis said, "I guess I'll take my leave." Before Attis could swim away however, Lucia called out to him asking, "Please, wait a moment! Just who are you?"

Attis turned to face them and thought about it. For a moment he considered revealing himself to them, but at the last second, decided against it. Instead he replied, "Just call me Ace for now, I suppose…"

"That's a weird name…" Lucia said under her breath, but Hanon somehow knew that Attis wasn't telling them his real name. Instead, she pointed at Aqualis and asked, "Is that a Keyblade you're holding?"

A nod came from Attis and he replied, "It is definitely a Keyblade, one bestowed upon me by Aqua Regina." That surprised both Lucia and Hanon, while Attis thought to himself, 'What the heck did I just say? I sure didn't sound like myself just now.' Lucia went on to ask, "Those things are the Heartless right? Why are they after us?"

"The Heartless are after your hearts Princesses." Attis replied, "The power of your hearts is strong, especially when synchronized with your pearls. From what I've seen now and last time, the Heartless come after you when you bring the power of your pearls forth due to your singing. I don't think they'll be able to come after you if you don't use your pearls, so they won't be after you 24/7."

"So we're safe if we don't turn into our idol forms." Hanon said. Attis told her, "Pretty much. You can still sing, but when you use the power of your pearls, it acts like a beacon to the Heartless, attracting them. Don't worry though, if you have to use your pearls to fight those water demons, I'll show up to beat back the Heartless, since it is my job after all."

Attis took a deep breath and said, "Sorry, that's all I can tell you for now. I can't say the specific reason why the Heartless are after you Princesses just yet, since I'm not too sure myself… I guess I'll see the two of you later."

That's when Lucia asked, "Wait please! Just one more thing, are you related to the story that happened ten years ago? They say that Aqua Regina was helped by a human wielding a Keyblade…"

"…I can't say, since I happen to have a small case of amnesia right now…" Attis told her. He bowed his head and said, "Well then, I'll see the two of you later when the Heartless show up again."

With that, Attis just swam off, leaving Lucia and Hanon by themselves. Lucia turned to Hanon and said, "Well, I guess that answers a few things…" Hanon nodded and she said, "Yeah, let's head back to the surface for now." The two reverted back into their mermaid forms and swam back to the surface.

Meanwhile, Attis made his way back to a nearby beach and shook off the excess water before his cloak dried him. As Aqualis vanished from his hand he thought to himself, 'Hmm, the behavior of the Heartless in this world is a bit strange. I wonder if they're being controlled by someone, since it is possible…'

As he saw the festival going on nearby, Attis quickly got changed as he walked back to the Festival grounds. When he arrived he saw that there were less people around, but there were more couples though. Feeling a bit ill at the sight of all those couples, he quickly walked through the festival grounds and out the entrance.

With the festival behind him, Attis made his way back to his apartment, feeling a bit tired for some reason. Along the way, he suddenly had an odd feeling of being watched and he whipped around, but saw nothing. Attis narrowed his eyes a bit and he kept on going, thinking, 'Must've just imagined it.'

Back at his apartment, Attis noticed that there were a lot of boxes around the apartment door next to his and said, "Someone moving in? Wonder who it is."

As Attis approached, a few movers came out, as well as a girl with long green hair. The movers bowed to the girl and she thanked them before the movers walked away. Attis walked forward and the girl noticed his presence and looked at him. Taking in the girl's features, she had gray eyes and her hair went past her waist. She was wearing blue jeans as well as a grey jacket with a white t-shirt underneath. Attis was in front of her now and asked, "Just moved in?"

The girl replied, "Yes. Do you live around here?" Attis nodded and jabbed his thumb towards the door to his apartment saying, "I moved into that apartment a few days ago. Looks like we're going to be neighbors huh?"

"I suppose so…" The girl said a bit tiredly. Attis extended a hand out to the girl saying, "I'm Attis Hale, but you can call me Attis." The girl looked a bit hesitant at first before she took his hand and said, "Rina Toin, it's nice to meet you."

Attis looked at the boxes beside Rina and asked, "Do you need any help with those?" Rina, looking a bit tired, looked at the boxes for a second. Then she replied, "Yes, please."

At that Attis went over to pick up a box and Rina did the same. Then the two went into the apartment with Rina going first. Eventually all the boxes were brought in quickly and Rina walked Attis out saying, "Thank you very much for the help Attis-san."

"It's no problem Toin-san. Well, goodnight then." Attis said. Rina nodded and said, "Goodnight." She shut the door behind her as Attis went over to his apartment.

Inside, Attis tried summoning Solaris and Lunaria again, but with no luck as usual. He remembered what the two Keyblades looked like, but for some reason he felt blocked when trying to summon them to his side. Being known as twin Keyblades, the two looked a bit similar to each other, but there were a few differences.

Solaris' handle looked like a picture of a red sun with the rays around, but with the inside hollowed out only having a red handle in it's place. The blade part looked like a flat silver blade, but with rounded edges and two thin lines going down each side. At the end there was a gold sun where the key's teeth would be, a quarter fused into the blade.

Lunaria's handle looked like a pair of blue crescent moons attached to the ends, with a blue handle inside. The blade looked just like Solaris' but it was golden in color. At the end was another crescent moon, but it was silver in color.

Attis sighed and gave up thinking, 'I wonder why I can't summon them?!' Then he turned to the wall which was in the direction of his new neighbor and thought, 'Rina Toin huh? New things just keep happening huh?'


	3. Learning a New Trick

Chapter 3 – Learning a New Trick

_Attis' apartment_

The next morning Attis was getting ready to go to work. Wearing a pair of dark grey jeans and a white dress shirt, he cleaned himself up a bit as he thought, 'Ha, didn't think the whole time fiasco could do this. Make me even wonder if I should continue on with my mission…' Attis slapped himself thinking, 'No, I still have the power of the Keyblade, so no matter what, stopping the Heartless is something I have to do.'

After all of that, Attis left his apartment, and gave a glance over to Rina's and thought, 'School must've started, she's probably long gone by now.' With that Attis made his way over to Maki's restaurant for the first day.

* * *

_Maki's restaurant_

By the time Attis got there, it was ten minutes to ten, and he opened the door to find Maki setting up the place. Maki heard the door open and looked up to see Attis walking in, and said, "Ah, Attis-san, glad to see that you're on time."

Attis nodded at that and said, "So, what do I do Maki-san?" Maki looked at Attis for a minute, then asked him, "You don't mind putting on a black bow, do you?"

For a moment, Attis looked at Maki oddly. Then he replied, "Uh, I guess so…" At that Maki just laughed and said, "Don't worry about that, it was just a joke. What you're wearing is good enough, though you might want to wear something lighter during the hotter days."

"I'll keep that in mind Maki-san." Attis said, a bit amused at Maki's antics. Then Maki told him, "You'll be taking on the job of being a waiter most of the time. I'll ask you to do other things every now and again but taking orders from the customers is what you'll be doing from now on."

"Yes sir." Attis said, and he prepared himself. As the place opened Attis thought to himself, 'This is something that I shouldn't be doing, but with me being cut off from HQ, I don't have much of a choice here…'

Attis managed to get the hang of the job quick enough, and being new, it attracted some attention from a few of the regulars. By the time his first break came, Attis felt half exhausted from all the work. As he sat down to take a break, Maki came up to him and said, "Wow, you sure managed to get used to the workload pretty quickly."

"It's nothing really; I learned to be adaptive quite a while ago." Attis told him. That's when another customer called to have their order taken and Attis got up saying, "Well, I guess there's no time for breaks I guess."

Maki just laughed as Attis went over to take the customer's order. As time went by, Attis thought about the Heartless from time to time, one of his thoughts being, 'Hmm, from the odd behavior of the Heartless, it's most likely that they're taking orders from someone or something …but who or what is it?'

Soon, it was a bit after five, and Attis felt quite tired. That's when Maki came up to him and said, "Good work Attis-san. I must say, it was quite impressive for your first day. It was like you've been working here all this time."

"Haha, as I said, I'm just adaptive that way." Attis said, waving it off. Maki then told him, "Nevertheless, you did well for your first day. You can go home now…wait, I need to tell you something first." Maki led Attis to the staff room, and Maki said, "Next week is Golden week, and even though for most of Japan it's a holiday, this restaurant will still be open. Is it okay for you to come in next week?"

Attis instantly agreed to it, "Sure, it's no problem for me." Maki looked relieved and said, "Okay, now that's settled. The next thing I wanted to say was that the restaurant will be closed for a few days, due to some things that I have to settle."

A nod came from Attis and said, "Okay." Then he looked around and asked, "Excuse me, but are there other employees here Maki-san?"

"Yes, there is and one of them was supposed to be here already. I wonder what's taking him." Maki replied. Attis nodded and walked out the door saying, "Thanks for the info, and I'll see you tomorrow Maki-san."

Maki just gave a nod as he watched Attis leave the restaurant. He couldn't help but think, 'That boy sure is mature for his age. I wonder what made him turn out that way…'

* * *

_Pearl Piari – outside_

Attis was busy walking around the town, searching for any signs of the Heartless, but found nothing. He found it strange, but felt relieved at the same time, since Heartless would go after anyone to increase their numbers. Having less Heartless around meant the Mermaid Princesses were safe from harm.

As he was walking, he passed by Pearl Piari when he saw a strange site. Lucia was about to attack a woman with blond hair, wearing sunglasses and a trench coat. As he stopped in front of the hotel he heard the woman scream, "What are you doing, attacking a customer?!" From the look Attis could see on Lucia's face, she was surprised by what the woman said and replied, "Eh, a customer?"

That's when Attis called out to Lucia saying, "Is something the matter Lucia-san?!" That's when Lucia turned around and said, "Attis-san!"

Inside Pearl Piari, Attis watched the scene as Lucia apologized to the woman for trying to attack her. Taking a look at how the woman acted, Attis thought, 'She should stop trying so hard to act inconspicuous, since she's actually attracting too much attention.'

The woman noticed Attis looking at her and asked, "Is there something you want?" Attis just replied, "Nope, though I gotta say, trying to cover your face like that would attract a lot of attention."

A 'hmph' came from the woman and she just walked off, leaving Attis to roll his eyes. The woman behind the counter went up to him and asked, "Excuse me, but who are you?"

Taking a quick look at the woman's face, he saw that she had purple hair tied up along with brown eyes. Attis cleared his throat and said, "Sorry about that. My name's Attis Hale, but you can just call me Attis. I'm an acquaintance with Lucia-san over here."

The woman behind the counter looked a bit surprised by that and she said, "Well, I'm Nikora Nanami, Lucia's older sister and the manager of Pearl Piari." Attis took a quick look around and said, "Wow, a young woman like you managing a place like this? That's quite amazing."

"Oh, you're just saying that." Nikora said with a smile, waving him off. That's when Attis heard Lucia mutter, "She's not as young as she looks though." A sudden chill came from Nikora as she asked, "Did you say something Lucia?"

Lucia quickly shook her head and said, "Nope, nothing at all!" Then she quickly ran to her room and out of sight. Attis just smirked at that and asked, "Excuse me Nanami-san, but are you and Lucia stepsisters by any chance?"

For a second, Attis thought he saw that Nikora had been caught off guard by the question, but she then replied, "Yes, it's true. She moved here from her old home and I'm taking care of her right now."

Suddenly, Attis heard footsteps and he turned to see an older woman with long brown gray hair and dressed like a fortune teller. She even had a large green crystal ball in her hands. Before Attis could say anything, Nikora said, "Oh, Attis-san, this is Taki-san, our resident fortuneteller."

Attis bowed his head at Taki and said, "It's nice to meet you Taki-san. I'm Attis Hale, but you can call me Attis." Taki replied, "So you're name is Attis huh? Very interesting…"

Attis couldn't help but have an odd feeling about Taki, as Nikora said, "Taki-san, you're scaring Attis-san you know." That's when Taki asked, "Do you mind coming with me for a moment Attis-san?"

For a moment, Attis glanced at Nikora, who looked a bit surprised by Taki's question. Then he just shrugged and replied, "I guess so…" Taki nodded and said, "Follow me please."

At that Attis followed Taki into her fortune telling room, making Nikora think, 'That was odd, Taki-san didn't seem herself just now.'

Inside the dark room, Attis was sitting behind a table facing Taki and her crystal orb. Taki told him, "Usually, I would charge you for a fortunetelling, but I'll let it go just this once." Attis just sat there wondering as Taki went on with her orb, thinking, 'What am I doing here?'

Suddenly Taki said, "Hmm, I see you facing two obstacles, which are beyond your ability to overcome at this moment. Let's see…oh, but you will be able to overcome them with help from another source." A moment of silence went on before she said, "I also see something red, but I can't clarify it."

Taki gave a sigh and said, "I can't see anymore than that." Attis nodded as he and Taki got up. Attis said, "Uh, well, thank you very much for the fortune Taki-san. I guess I'll see what will happen later then."

A nod came from Taki as the two left the room. Outside they saw Hanon beside Nikora and Nikora noticed them walk out and asked, "So, how did it go?"

"It was quite…interesting to say the least." Attis replied. That's when Hanon said, "Attis-san! I'm glad to see that you're alright. I haven't seen you since you ran off at the surfing competition."

"Yeah, sorry about that." Attis said, scratching the back of his head. That's when Attis saw Hippo running up to them holding something pink that Attis couldn't identify. Hippo was about to say something when he noticed that Attis was standing there and kept his mouth shut. Attis saw Hippo and asked, "Who's this?"

"Oh, that's Hippo, Lucia's pet." Nikora told him. Attis nodded and said, "Well, I guess I better get going. It was nice meeting you Nikora-san, Taki-san, and it was good to see you and Lucia-san too Hanon-san. I'll see all of you later." Attis gave a wave and left Pearl Piari.

For a second, the red pearl in Attis' pocket shined, and it gave a pearl reaction on Hippo's pearl radar for a second. Hippo saw it and thought, 'What was that? Maybe I need to fix the pearl radar…'

Outside Attis looked to the sunset, still thinking about Taki's words. He shook his head and he walked off, not noticing that Kaito was nearby. Attis thought, 'Two obstacles that I can't overcome at the moment? And something red…maybe it refers to the Red Pearl that Aqua Regina gave me, but how will that help me?'

A moment later, he saw a car go by, and just for a second, he thought he saw Lucia's face in the back. That's when he felt a slight pulse of energy come from the Red Pearl. He took it out and saw that the light was pulsating like a heartbeat. It seemed to tell him something and he heard a faint voice say, 'Follow them…'

Suddenly, a small red light came from the pearl and floated in front of him. Then it flew off, making Attis think, 'It'll probably lead the way.' Putting the Red Pearl necklace back into his pocket, Attis ran after the red light, wondering where it led.

* * *

_Unknown hotel_

By the time the orb of light stopped, it was already night. Attis stopped in front of the small orb catching his breath. As the light vanished, he heard a familiar shout from the distance, shouting, "Love Shower Pitch!"

Knowing what was going on, Attis quickly changed into his cloak and mask, making sure there was no one around. Summoning Aqualis, he ran towards the source of the shout, despite feeling tired of running a long distance.

When Attis reached the clearing however, he didn't find anyone around, except two people who were on the ground unconscious. Attis quickly went over to check to see if they were alright and thankfully he saw that they were alright. He looked around and thought, 'What the…where are they? There's no Heartless, and even the Pink and Aqua Princesses took a hike already.'

Looking around for a bit longer, he was about to dematerialize Aqualis when suddenly, ten Shadows appeared from behind him. Attis got into fighting position and said, "A whole bunch of Shadows? Not exactly what I call threatening."

Attis spoke too soon, as the Shadows split into two groups, and then the Shadows converged on each other, looking like they were fusing together. From his point of view, it didn't look pretty as he thought, "What are they doing?!"

That's when the two black blobs formed a more definite form. There were two Heartless now, and the two looked more humanoid now. Attis recognized the forms and spat, "Shoot, they're Neoshadows. Those things are tough, and I don't think I have the strength to defeat them without going through a harsh beating." As Attis gripped Aqualis tightly, one of the Neoshadows jumped towards him and took a swipe at Attis which he barely dodged.

Attis ran towards the center of the parking lot they were in and tried fighting off the two Neoshadows. However, with an amazing amount of speed they had, as well as melding into the shadows, it was proving difficult to fight them.

From the ocean, both Lucia and Hanon were watching Attis fight the Neoshadows and Lucia said, "We have to help him." Hanon looked at her and asked, "And how do you propose we do that? The moment we get out there in our idol forms, those Heartless will be on us before we have the chance to sing!"

Also, from a nearby tree, Rina was watching the fight and thought, 'Who is that? And what the heck are those things…?' Then as Attis swung Aqualis around, striking a Neoshadow in the abdomen and sending it flying, it gave Rina a clear view of Aqualis and she thought, 'That weapon looks like a…giant key? Wait, could that story about Aqua Regina and the Keyblade be true? Then that means those creatures are Heartless!'

Back to the fight, the Neoshadows kept on attacking, and Attis was having a hard time keeping up with their speed. He thought to himself, 'Damn, these Neoshadows are faster than usual. And at my current strength, I can barely keep up. If there was only some way to level the playing field…'

That's when Aqua Regina's voice entered his head saying, 'Use the Red Pearl…' Attis blocked an attack with Aqualis as he thought, 'What…? What do you mean by that?'

'Synchronize the pearl with Aqualis… That is all I can tell you…' Aqua Regina's voice said, before it faded from Attis' mind. Attis quickly jumped back and used a Cure spell to heal himself a bit, then took out the shell necklace and quickly plucked out the Red Pearl from it. He had to duck from an attack as he put the necklace back in his pocket and ran to the middle of the parking lot.

What he did next would surprise the three onlookers, as he held the Red Pearl next to Aqualis and shouted, "Red Pearl Synchro!" There was a flash of light that blinded Lucia, Hanon, and Rina and when it faded, they saw nothing had changed, but the Red Pearl was now in the bottom hole that was next to the hilt of Aqualis. Lucia turned to Hanon and asked, "I've never heard of the Red Pearl. Have you Hanon?"

Hanon shook her head and said, "I never heard about it, but from the power I can feel, that pearl feels like one of ours." Lucia was silent at that as she turned her head back to the battle.

Near the tree, Rina was speechless at what just happened. She thought, 'That pearl, it feels as though it's just like mine and the other two…' Rina took out her necklace and looked at the Green Pearl that was inside it.

Back at the battle Attis could feel that he grew a bit stronger, and felt a spell unlock in his head which he recognized. He smiled behind the mask and thought, 'Now this might just do it.' Attis held out Aqualis and shouted, "Haste!"

In an instant, Attis was surrounded in a pink aura as the Neoshadows recovered from the light, and instantly went on the offensive. Now that Attis was faster, he was able to quickly dodge the attacks and strike back with equal speed.

The Neoshadows were losing ground bit by bit as Attis pushed back one of the Neoshadows and pointed Aqualis at it and shouted, "Fire!" A small fireball came out of Aqualis' tip and flew right at the Neoshadow, giving off an explosion that sent it flying.

Attis was starting to feel the effects of Haste starting to fade, so he quickly swung the Aqualis around, hitting the other Neoshadow right in the head, sending it skidding sideways. Then he quickly rushed over to the other Neoshadow and started attacking it with quick slashes, which the Neoshadow couldn't defend against.

Then, with a finishing blow, Attis stabbed Aqualis right through the Neoshadow's chest, causing it to collapse into a black mist before vanishing completely. Feeling the effects of Haste now gone from him, Attis quickly turned around and saw that the other Neoshadow was rushing over towards him with it's shadow merged in the ground.

Rematerializing into a solid form, the Neoshadow started to attack him mercilessly, with Attis barely able to block most of them. A punch to the gut got through, and it sent Attis flying right across the parking lot, close to the water's edge.

Coughing, Attis slowly got up and felt like he was about to fall apart. From the ocean, Lucia and Hanon were looking tense, worrying about Attis' situation. It's frustrated them that they couldn't help him and that all they could do was watch. Attis was starting to breathe a bit heavily and thought, 'I need to finish this now!'

"Haste!" Attis shouted, and once more a pink aura surrounded him. However, due to the state of his condition, Attis was only able to keep up with the Neo-Shadow, and things were at a standstill. Inside Attis didn't feel all that great and that was when he felt a sudden burst of energy starting to come forth.

Underneath the mask Attis smirked and whispered, 'I almost forgot about that…' That's when Attis focused on the energy coming forth and a thin, blue aura enveloped Aqualis. Suddenly there was a burst of energy and Attis said, "You had this coming!"

Then, with a burst of speed, Attis rushed over and started attacking the Neoshadow relentlessly, with his strikes much stronger than usual. That's when Attis knocked the Neoshadow into the air and jumped up after it, then released a fury of strikes before making one last blow, which slammed the Neoshadow into the ground. It exploded into black mist before fading completely as Attis landed on the ground.

The onlookers looked quite surprised at Attis' last stunt and Attis himself thought, 'Can't believe I forgot about Limit Breaks. The amnesia must've done a lot worse than I thought.' Then Aqualis vanished, which left the Red Pearl behind that Attis quickly caught. He then held the Red Pearl up to the night sky, leaving the three onlookers a clear view of it and Attis said, 'This little thing sure saved me today.' Then he quickly put it back in its shell necklace and put the necklace back in his pocket.

After that Attis tried hard on casting one last Cure spell on himself before he quickly withdrew from the area, seeing that the two people who were unconscious nearby starting to stir. As he ran Attis couldn't help but think, 'Wonder what happened to those two anyway…'

Quickly making his way back to his apartment before he felt like collapsing, Attis managed to take off the cloak and mask before he fell on his bed in exhaustion. Having the injuries he had taken from the Neoshadows healed up. All he felt like doing was going to fall asleep but he had a few things to think about first.

Attis replayed the battle mentally, and that's when Attis suddenly remembered what Taki had told him back at their fortune telling session, 'This sounds like what Taki-san told me. The two obstacles that I wouldn't be able to overcome were the two Neoshadows, and the help and red thing Taki mentioned must've been Aqua Regina and the Red Pearl!'

Not being much of a believer in fortunetelling, this shook Attis up quite a bit and thought, 'Wow, first time a fortune I was told actually came true. Maybe I should stop by tomorrow and see what else Taki-san has to say.'

Finding some energy to get back up, Attis went back to trying to materialize Solaris and Lunaria. Again, he had no such luck and just to make himself feel better, he materialized Aqualis. Looking at the Keyblade, he took a closer look at the eight holes that were in the blade. Knowing where the red pearl went, he speculated, 'The other holes must be for holding the other pearls of the Mermaid Princesses. I wonder why Aqua Regina made it this way, since it's not like I can just take the other pearls when I need them.'

Making Aqualis vanish, Attis took out the Red Shell necklace and put it on the table beside his bed. Getting changed, he quickly went to bed, and fell asleep quickly. With that a memory came back to him in the form of a dream.

* * *

_Dreamstate – seven years ago, Attis' homeworld_

Attis was wearing slightly ragged clothes, as he and six other children ran through the alleyways of a city, with the Heartless chasing after them. Being a ten year old orphan, all he could do was run at the moment, as the Heartless already devoured some of their friends and were after them.

Suddenly they ran themselves into a scrapyard and they were trapped, with the Heartless coming for them at the entrance. All of a sudden, a portal of light appeared behind them, and with no other options, five of the children ran through the portal without a second thought. The last child, a girl with long brown hair and gray eyes, wearing a dirtied white dress, was about to also go through the portal when she saw Attis go over and pick up a slightly rusted steel pipe.

As Attis walked back over the girl asked, "What are you doing Attis?! C'mon, let's go!"

"I can't do that Karen, I'll hold these things back, and you go after the others." Attis told the girl, named Karen, as he held the pipe with two hands, standing in front of the portal and Karen. Karen shook her head and tried pulling Attis towards the gate, as the Heartless slowly advanced towards them saying, "No, I won't lose you to those things like the others."

Attis wrestled free from Karen's grip and he pushed her through the gate saying, "Sorry Karen, but you're more important to us than I am." The last thing Attis ever heard from Karen was her shouting his name as she fell through the portal. Then Attis turned to the Heartless with pipe in his hand as he said, "Come and get me!"

* * *

Attis woke up in the middle of the night from the dream. He sat up for a second before thinking, 'That's right, it all started when the Heartless invaded my home.' Attis just sighed and went back to sleep, hoping that he wouldn't wake up again until the sun rose.


	4. Stage Fight

Chapter 4 – Stage Fight

Golden Week was going to start in a few days, yet Attis had the day off, since Maki was off on business. Attis remembered that yesterday was quite hectic, since news about the new guy at the establishment had spread, and most of the customers were looking at him. Since most of them were girls, he had quite the hard time keeping things professional, as some of them tried to hit on him.

Maki was quite interested in how Attis managed to keep his cool, and was quite impress how he managed to keep everything calm at the end of his work day. Attis however felt quite drained for the whole thing and even told Maki how if felt like he was trying to entertain all the customers. At the end of all of that, Maki went and gave Attis his pay, saying that the job pays weekly instead of monthly.

Now Attis was looking around, still searching for any signs of the Heartless. Having seen nothing so far Attis decided to just head back to his apartment and watch T.V. when he saw Taro outside what looked like a mail office. Taking a closer look, he saw that there were a couple of boxes beside him that looked like were one too many to carry by himself.

Wondering what Taro was doing just standing there, Attis approached him saying, "Mitsuki-san?" Taro looked up at Attis and said, "Oh, Attis-san, hello."

Looking at the boxes, Attis pointed to them and asked, "What's with the boxes Mitsuki-san? Buy something that came in one to many pieces?" Taro laughed a bit at that and told him, "No, no, these are just a few packages that were sent from my parents' house." Taking a closer look at the boxes, Attis saw that there were four in total, stacked up upon each other. He thought, 'Wow, sure is a lot of stuff…'

Suddenly, a thought came to Taro and asked, "Excuse me Attis-san, but could you please help me take these boxes to my house? I can't carry all of them as you can see, and I was about to consider calling a cab…"

Attis knew where Taro was going with what he was saying and said, "Don't worry about it Mitsuki-san. I'll help, since it's my day off and all…" Taro looked quite thankful at Attis' words and said, "Thank you very much Attis-san. I'll take the first two, and you take the other two." Attis nodded and the two went over to pick up the boxes.

Now Taro was leading Attis back to his house and Attis thought to himself, 'Sorta feels like what I did for Rina…' Then Attis asked Taro, "Sorry to pry, but what exactly are in these boxes?"

"Oh, just a few possessions of mine that I had left behind back at my parents' place." Taro replied. Seeing Attis' slightly confused face, Taro explained, "Long story short, I used to travel a lot in the past. It's only recently that I settled down in this town."

"…I see." Attis said. They managed to reach Taro's house in a short amount of time, which Attis noticed was one of the seaside houses. Taro put the boxes he was holding on the ground so he could open the front door, then picked them up and went inside, with Attis following him.

Taking a quick look inside, Attis saw that it was quite the nice house. Following Taro to the living room, he put the boxes down beside one of the couches and said, "You can put them down here Attis-san." Attis nodded and put the boxes he was holding down beside the other two. Giving a small sigh, Attis said, "I guess that's that."

"Thank you very much for the help Attis-san." Taro said. Attis nodded, when he noticed the piano near the patio door that overlooked the ocean. Attis asked, "You play piano Mitsuki-san?"

"Yes, I do," Taro replied with a nod, "I'm a professional musician, as well as a music teacher, though most of my time is spent teaching." That's when he asked, "Do you like music Attis-san?"

"Yeah," Attis replied, "I actually play the electric guitar as a hobby, but it's been a while since I've played. Anyway, I do like music in general."

That's when Taro took out a ticket from his pocket and handed it to Attis saying, "Here, this is a ticket to a concert that I'm playing at. It's my way of saying thank you." Attis took the ticket and looked at it saying, "Thank you very much Mitsuki-san. I'll be sure to make it."

Giving a nod and a goodbye, Attis left the house and started walking back to his apartment. Taking another look at the ticket he received for more information, he thought, 'Wonder what this concert is all about.'

As he was walking, he heard someone shouting, "If you keep trying to accuse me of something, I won't forgive you even if you're a girl!" Attis recognized the voice as Kaito's and thought, 'That was Kaito's voice just now!' Looking up ahead he saw Kaito with his surfboard, staring at who he recognized as Rina. Walking up to them, he thought, 'Isn't that Toin-san? What's she doing staring at Kaito like that?'

He was right at them when Rina decided to run away, running right into Attis and pushing him aside without even looking. Attis nearly fell over and Kaito saw the whole thing, so he went over and asked, "Attis, are you alright?"

"Yeah I'm fine." Attis said, dusting himself off. He looked in the direction Rina ran off to and asked, "What's with Toin-san?" Kaito replied, "That girl's been harassing me a lot-. Wait, you know her?"

"She's my next door neighbor back at the apartments where I live." Attis told him, "Anyway, what's this about harassing you?"

Kaito's mood got a bit worse and he told Attis, "Toin-san's been harassing me ever since she transferred to my school. Keeps going on about how I'm in disguise and that she'll unmask me or something…"

Attis looked at him and said with shock, "Say what?!" Kaito nodded at Attis' shock and said, "I know! She hasn't stopped doing that to me. It's like I'm her worst enemy, and I haven't even met her before!"

"Wow, that's tough. All I can say is that I hope this blows over soon. How about I try and talk to her. We may only be neighbors but I'll see what I can do." Attis told him. Kaito looked grateful for that and said, "Thanks Attis, I'll see you later."

Giving a wave to Kaito as he walked off, Attis went by the opposite direction and headed back to the apartments. When he got there, he tried ringing on Rina's door but got no response. Attis scratched his head and thought, 'She mustn't be home…oh well.'

With that Attis decided to return to his own apartment and wait for the concert while doing other things.

* * *

_Concert Hall_

Attis was sitting on a chair in the back row, looking down at the stage as the concert was about to start. Earlier Attis noticed that Kaito, Lucia, and Hanon were attending also, seeing them walk down the isle and sit down in seats a few rows below his. That's when he saw Taro walk onto the stage and he clapped with the rest of the crowd at his appearance.

That's when he heard Hanon shout, "Taro-chan!" which made Attis smirk and think, 'Hanon's quite excited about Mitsuki-san. I wonder why…'

Soon, as Taro settled in, he started to play on the piano, and Attis couldn't help but be impressed by Taro's playing. Attis could feel that it was quite calm and serene, and it made him feel quite a peace for a bit.

As the song played, Attis saw Kaito get up and he saw a slightly annoyed look on his face. A moment later, Lucia was up, looking like she just woke up from a nap, which Attis found quite amusing. But as much as the music was interesting, Attis wondered what was up with Kaito. So he quickly got out of his seat and went back out into the foyer.

Out in the foyer, Attis came across a familiar site; Kaito and Rina were staring at each other again, but this time, Lucia was with them. He walked up to them as he heard Lucia say, "The piano is truly wonderful!"

Then Kaito said, "Sure, says the person who fell asleep…" Lucia was embarrassed, while Attis let out a laugh as Kaito left the foyer, on his way home. Attis walked up to her and asked, "What's wrong with Kaito?"

Lucia nearly jumped at Attis' voice as she turned around and said, "Oh, Attis-san, you're here too?"

"I was invited by Mitsuki-san." Attis told her. Then Lucia turned to Rina and said, "Oh, that's right!" Then Attis saw Lucia take out something from out of her pocket and held it to Rina saying, "Rina, I was gonna give this to you, here!" Tilting his head a bit, Attis saw a green ring with three flowers of the same color in her hand.

That's when Lucia said, "I worked real hard to make it! We're classmates, right?" Attis raised an eyebrow at that as Lucia smiled and said, "A sign of friendship!"

Suddenly, Rina grabbed the ring and said with a bit of anger, "You're too carefree!" Then she walked off to the entrance, with Attis making sure he was out of the way this time. When he saw the look on Lucia's face he said, "I wouldn't worry about it too much Lucia-san. Toin-san looks like she has a lot on her mind at the moment."

"Yeah…" Lucia said. Then what Attis said to her registered in her mind and she asked, "Eh? How do you know Rina?"

Attis smirked since it felt like déjà vu again as he replied, "Toin-san's my neighbor back at the apartments where I live." Suddenly out of the corner of Attis' eye, he thought he saw something like a Shadow turn the corner and out of sight. At the same time Taro's piano playing came to an end but Attis didn't pay any attention to that. Instead he said, "Sorry Lucia-san, I remembered I had something to do. I'll see you later."

Before Lucia could say anything Attis was already off down the hall where he saw the Shadow, and eventually he came to a dead end in the hallway, but found nothing. Attis looked around for a moment before he said, "What the…was it just my imagination?"

All of as sudden, an eerie melody started playing and Attis found it a bit odd. A chill went down his spine and had an odd feeling about it. He quickly changed into his cloak and mask and started to walk back down the hallway. That's when a few employees came out of the adjacent rooms, having an odd look on their faces. They turned towards him and started walking forward as Attis thought, 'The heck is this? They're acting like zombies!'

Quickly, Attis evaded the employees' attempts to grab him and he hit them from behind, causing them to collapse on the spot. He made his way through the other employees that tried to grab him and eventually made it back to the foyer. That's when Attis saw Rina run through the foyer and thought, 'What the heck is Rina thinking?!'

That's when Attis saw a Green Shell necklace in Rina's hand and saw her put it on. He sighed and figured that Rina was the Green Mermaid Princess in a snap. That's when he quickly made his way around through the employee-only rooms and managed to make his way back into the concert hall, where he found Lucia, Hanon, and Rina singing Legend of Mermaid. On the stage, he saw a girl with long lime-green hair wearing a red dress covering her ears at the piano.

As the song finished, the girl shouted something and disappeared from the stage. As if on queue, Heartless started to appear, and Attis counted ten Soldiers and five Air Soldiers. All of them had their eyes on the three Mermaid Princesses who grew worried at the numbers.

Lucia was the first one to say, "Oh no, it's the Heartless!" Hanon looked around and asked, "Where's Ace when you need him?!"

Rina looked at them and asked, "Ace? Who's that?" That's when one of the Air Soldiers made a nosedive towards the three Princesses and they braced themselves for the impact. It never came, as Attis had jumped at the Air Soldier and smashed it away with Aqualis, causing it to hit the wall and dissipate, it's captive heart floating into the air and out of sight.

Lucia and Hanon looked relieved at Attis' appearance, while Rina looked at him and thought, 'That's the guy from the other night…'

Seeing all the people lying around unconscious, Attis said, "Shoot, it'll be hard to fight all the Heartless with all these people lying around…" The Soldiers started advancing on them, ignoring the people by stepping over them, which made Attis think, 'Something's wrong…the Heartless are just ignoring the people around them. Is it because the Mermaid Princesses' hearts are that alluring to them?'

Another Air Soldier made a nosedive towards the three Princesses and Attis wasn't able to intercept on time. Suddenly, a white light enveloped the three Mermaid Princesses, and the Air Soldier bounced off the barrier.

The four recognized it as the live stage which gave Hanon the idea, "Let's keep singing you two! If we sing, we can weaken the Heartless long enough for Ace to finish them off."

Lucia and Rina nodded and they continued to sing Legend of Mermaid. The effect was instant, as the Soldiers and Air Soldiers started to shake a bit, and even some of them started to stagger. Attis realized what was happening and started to make short work of the soldiers, managing to wipe out two of them with one strike.

Even though the Heartless were weakened by the power of the song, they were still able to fight as two Soldiers leapt forward and tried to scratch Attis. However, the attack was sloppy and Attis managed to evade it just in time, and swiped one of the Soldiers in the back hard, dissipating it and releasing its heart.

By the time Attis finished with all the Soldiers, Lucia, Hanon, and Rina had finished singing. They were surprised to see that the Air Soldiers were still there, and they were recovering from the song. Attis didn't give them a chance to attack, as he started bombarding them with Fire spells, shooting down each one with each shot.

With all the Heartless gone, it left only the four of them, and Rina took that chance to quietly withdraw. Lucia and Hanon noticed her leaving and with their backs turned to him, Attis quietly left the hall too.

As both Lucia and Hanon transformed back, they say that Attis was gone too, and Lucia said, "Those two vanished so quickly!" Hanon nodded, "Yes but we have something more important to worry about!"

Lucia turned around, wondering what Hanon was talking about, but it became obvious when Hanon shouted, "Taro-chan!" She shook her head and went over to help her.

Meanwhile Attis quickly made his way back to the hallway, and entered the nearby washroom to change. By the time he got back out he saw that all the people who were under the influence started to stir. When Attis reached the foyer, he saw that most of the people were up already, confused by what just happened.

Soon, he saw Lucia and Hanon walk out, carrying Taro between them, and Hanon having a grin on her face. Attis walked over to them asking, "What happened to Mitsuki-san?"

As both Lucia and Hanon laid Taro down on a nearby couch Hanon said, "Mitsuki-sensei suddenly collapsed back in the hall." Lucia looked at Attis and asked, "What about you Attis-san?"

Attis scratched his head and said, "Well, I had to bar myself in a closet since the employees started acting like zombies, unfortunately." Both Lucia and Hanon looked at each other for a moment as Taro started to stir. Most of the people were starting to leave the concert hall as Taro opened his eyes and slowly got up saying, "W-what am I doing…?"

"Sensei, you're awake!" Hanon said with relief. Taro slowly nodded and said, "Yeah…I felt like I was dreaming…" Attis looked at him and said, "Don't worry about it Mitsuki-san. These two ladies found you collapsed in the hallway and they brought you here to recover."

"Really…?" Taro said, still looking a bit disoriented. Attis turned to the girls and said, "I take it that the two of you will take care of Mitsuki-san?" Lucia and Hanon nodded so Attis said, "Okay, I'll see the three of you later then. I have work tomorrow." With a wave, Attis left the concert hall and walked back to his hotel room."

When Attis reached his apartment door he saw Rina right by her door, about to open it. Attis called out to her, "Toin-san!" Rina looked and saw Attis walking towards her. She said, "Oh, Attis-san."

The moment Attis was right in front of Rina he asked her, "Do you mind if I ask you something?" Rina seemed slightly puzzled and said, "Uh, okay…"

"Let's see, is there something going on between you and Kaito? The two of you seemed to be in an intense argument earlier today." Attis said. Rina remembered that time and how she also ran right through Attis. She said, "It's nothing, I mistook him for someone else, that's all. Oh, and I'm sorry for pushing through you like that too."

"It's no problem. At least things between you and Kaito are straightened up." Attis said, "I guess it's understandable you mistook him for someone else. Kind of reminds me of what happened earlier. I was coming too back at the concert hall for some reason and I thought I saw a beautiful woman with long green hair, matching green eyes, and wearing a beautiful dress run out of the concert hall. She kind of reminded me of you for a second there."

Rina blushed at that a bit and inside, Attis was smiling to himself at how Rina was reacting. He was about to head for his apartment when Rina asked, "How do you know him?" Attis turned around and replied, "I met him about a little under a week ago, I think. He's a good guy."

Rina was surprised at that and said, "You know, since we're neighbors and all, I don't mind if you call me by my first name." Attis nodded and said, "I understand Rina-san. Good night to you."

"Night…" Rina said as Attis went over to his apartment and went inside. She just sighed and went inside her apartment.

Inside, Attis went back to practicing trying to summon his two Keyblades. Again there was no such luck and Attis was seriously considering stopping trying to summon Solaris and Lunaria. From what he could gather, his sealed abilities and memories were related so being able to use the two Keyblades might come if he regains a memory.

Since it was getting late, Attis got changed and went to sleep. Again another dream in the form of a memory started to surface as he slept.

* * *

_Dreamstate – seven years ago, Attis' homeworld_

Attis was facing the Heartless that closed in on him. With the white portal still there, Attis had resolved himself to protect it from the Heartless that came at him. That's when a Shadow leaped forward and attacked him. Attis dodged it and struck the Shadow with the pipe in his hands. Even though it somehow knocked the Shadow back, it didn't do anything to the Shadow as it got up again and started crawling towards him.

Suddenly the portal vanished and Attis smiled at that and thought, 'Now everyone's safe. I might not be able to do anything against these things, but that doesn't mean that I won't go down without a fight!'

All of a sudden time seemed to freeze around him, and Attis was suddenly engulfed in darkness. A second later, he found himself on top of a pillar that had a stained glass picture that Attis saw was of himself and other pictures, when three things appeared before him. They were a sword, a shield, and a staff, and a voice called out to him saying, "Pick your weapon…"

Attis freaked out at the voice but did as he was told and grabbed the sword. Then the voice asked, "Is that your final choice?" Attis just nodded and then the voice went on to ask, "Choose what you must sacrifice…"

Attis looked at the shield and staff and that's when Attis pointed to the shield. That's when the voice asked, "Is this what you will sacrifice?" Again, all Attis could do was nod and the voice said, "Follow the path of the sword, but sacrifice the path of the shield. Is this what you desire?" For a moment Attis thought about it and then he said, "Yes."

Then the voice told him, "Fight the darkness to restore balance…the Heartless are your adversaries…" In a flash Attis found himself back in the scrapyard, with the Heartless retreating back from the light that came from Attis' right hand.

In a flash, a giant key appeared in Attis' hand. Looking at it Attis saw that it was a peculiar-looking key. It looked identical to the Kingdom Key, with the guard was golden yellow and handle was blue in color, while the blade part was silvery grey with a blue notch above the hilt. At the tip of it however, the teeth were in the form of a castle wall. A name came across Attis mind as he whispered it, "Castle key…?"

With the light dying down, the Heartless started to come closer, and some of them started to attack at the sight of the Castle key. Attis was ready and started to attack the Heartless, with each blow being successful at defeating each Heartless that he struck a blow to.

Eventually Attis defeated all the Heartless that were around, and fell back in exhaustion. However it didn't last long as the sky began to darken and a sudden chill overcame Attis. That's when even more Heartless started to show up as the sky grew darker. Attis picked himself up and mentally prepared himself for another round.

All of a sudden, another white portal showed up, and this time a fifteen year old boy with short brown hair and green eyes came through it. Wearing green jeans, a white shirt and a grey vest that had pockets, he looked at the sky and said, "Shoot, it's already too late for this world…"

Then the boy noticed Attis, who was holding his Keyblade in a defensive stance, and held his arms up and said, "Whoa there kid, I'm not one of the Heartless." Attis lowered the Castle Key a bit and asked, "Who are you, and where did you come from?"

"There's no time to explain right now." The boy replied, beckoning Attis over and saying, "You'd better hurry and get over here, this world is being engulfed by darkness!" Attis didn't like the sound of that and so he ran over to the boy's side as even more Heartless started to pop up.

Seeing the Heartless, the boy said, "C'mon, I'd better take you through the portal back to HQ before this place gets overrun!"

"But who are you?!" Attis shouted. The boy just picked Attis up and threw him through the portal, with the last thing Attis hearing was, "The name's Halit!" With that Halit jumped in after him and the portal closed before the Heartless could follow.


	5. Crab Cake

Chapter 5 – Crab Cake

With Golden Week now underway, work at Maki's restaurant was getting harder for Attis. The number of customers increased, and Attis was pushing himself hard to keep up with the workload. One time he thought to himself, 'Whew, fighting Heartless is easier than this!'

To his surprise, he was quite popular with the female customers, and it took him all of his wit and willpower to stay calm and collected. Maki watched as he worked, looking glad that he made the right choice in hiring him.

It was now the middle of the week and thankfully, Attis had the day off, since Maki had some business to take care of again. With that Attis took the chance to visit Pearl Piari to take care of something that he had been putting off for quite a while.

* * *

_Pearl Piari_

Attis opened the door to Pearl Piari and called out, "Hello? Is anyone here?" At that moment, Nikora's voice replied, "Yes, just please wait a moment!" Then Nikora herself appeared rushing over. When she saw Attis she said, "Oh, Attis-kun. This is a pleasant surprise. Did you need something?"

"Uh, yes actually, is Taki-san around?" Attis asked. A moment later Taki appeared asking, "Did someone call me?"

"Oh, Taki-san, hello." Attis said. Taki looked at him and said, "Oh, if it isn't Attis-san. Since you called out to me I'm guessing that you're here for a fortune?" Attis smirked and said, "Yes, but first I wanted to thank you for the last fortune. It came true, though not in a way that I expected."

Nikora looked quite surprised at that, and Taki gave a small smirk and said, "I see… Well, if you would follow me please." Attis followed Taki into the dark room with Nikora thinking, 'That was a surprise, one of Taki's predictions actually coming true… Well, I'd better get back to work.'

Inside the dark room, Attis was again sitting across from Taki, while Taki was looking into her crystal orb. There was a moment of silence before Taki said, "Beware of crabs. You should stay away from them for at least today, if you can… Hm? I also see the aquarium…maybe something there is waiting for you… That's all I can see for now…"

Attis was silent for a bit and then he said, "Okay…I guess that's it then." Attis took out his wallet and Taki told him the price of the telling, which he found reasonable. After paying the fee the two of them got out, and Taki led Attis to the door saying, "Have a good day Attis-san."

A wave came from Attis and said, "Thank you Taki-san, and good day to you too." Then he left the hotel leaving Taki by herself. She thought, 'I might as well check on Lucia and Hanon, and see what they're doing.'

* * *

_Beachside_

Walking down the beach in though, Attis wondered about the crab part. To him it sounded a bit weird but decided to be on guard for today for any surprises. Figuring that the Heartless only show up when the Mermaid Princesses sing, which was quite the weird behavior from what he saw, he sighed and relaxed as he walked down the beach.

Along the way he noticed Kaito floating in the water, and he also noticed that he walked quite the way while in thought. Taking a better look, Attis saw that there was a pale pink dolphin with him, looking quite frantic about something. So Attis called out to Kaito shouting, "Oi Kaito, is something the matter?"

Kaito turned around and saw Attis standing near the beach. He said, "Oh Attis, it's nothing. Just that this dolphin came up to me and tried to tell me something." Suddenly Attis felt the Red Pearl inside his pocket react for a second, and the dolphin felt it too. That's when Attis heard a female voice inside his head saying, 'Please help me!'

'What? What was that?' Attis thought, looking around. Again the voice called out to him, 'I'm over here!' Attis turned around until his eyes fell upon the dolphin, who happened to be looking at him. He freaked out a bit as the dolphin said, 'Please help me mister, I've been separated from my son, and I think he's in that place over there.'

The dolphin nodded over to the nearby aquarium and Attis nodded and thought, 'I guess I'll check it out for you. Could you wait outside the aquarium then?' The dolphin nodded and swam off and he heard the dolphin tell him, 'Thank you very much mister.'

Kaito was watching the whole thing looking confused and he swam towards the shore where Attis was standing. On ground Kaito asked, "What was that all about? You can talk to dolphins?"

Attis just shrugged and said, "I'm not sure…anyway do you know of any baby dolphins being kept in the aquarium over there?" Kaito thought about it for a second before he replied, "Actually, I heard on T.V. that there is one being taken care of there. Momo-chan I think the name was."

"Hmm, I see… You want to check it out with me Kaito?" Attis asked. Kaito nodded and said, "Sure, just let me get changed first." With that, Kaito walked off to a nearby shack that looked abandoned. As Attis waited he thought, 'Hmm, maybe what Taki was saying when she referred to something waiting for me at the aquarium meant the baby dolphin?'

As Attis continued to think, Kaito came back out of the shack in his regular clothes and without his surfboard. He poked Attis on the shoulder and said, "Let's get going." Attis noticed that Kaito didn't have his surfboard and his other things with him and figured that they were still in the shack. He asked while pointing to the shack, "Is it alright to just leave your stuff in there?"

"It's fine, no one uses that shack anymore anyway, and I hid my things just in case." Kaito replied with confidence. Attis just shrugged at that as the two of them walked over to the aquarium building that was nearby.

* * *

_Aquarium_

Inside the aquarium, both Attis and Kaito looked at the map and found the pool where Momo was being kept. Attis looked at Kaito and said, "You go on ahead to the pool Kaito, I want to check out the place a bit first." Kaito nodded and the two went their separate ways.

Finding the aquarium quite big and having a vast amount of fish and other aquatic creatures, Attis wondered if there was something else waiting for him here. He shook his head and thought, 'I shouldn't think about it so much, when or if it happens, it happens, so stop thinking about it so much.'

Soon, Attis passed by the penguin pool and saw an odd sight. A huge penguin was surrounded by a number of other penguins, and in the penguin's arms was another penguin that was wearing a tux. The penguin in the tux looked a bit ragged and seemed to be squirming quite a bit.

As Attis took a closer look he thought, 'Is it just me, or is the penguin in the tux actually Lucia's pet Hippo?' Squinting his eyes a bit, he saw that it was indeed Hippo in the middle of something that he didn't want to think about. Giving one last look at the penguin pool, Attis quickly ran off to another part of the aquarium.

Deciding to head to Momo's pool, he saw Hanon and Rina together staring out at the fish behind the glass. He called out to them, "Oh, Hanon-san? Rina-san?" The two turned around to see Attis walking forward towards them. He saw the somber looks on their faces and thought, 'I wonder what they were thinking about…'

Hanon was the first one to say, "Oh, Attis-san, did you come here to see Momo-chan too?" Attis nodded and said, "Yeah, I heard about it from Kaito, and came here with him. The two of us split up at the entrance since I wanted to take a look around the aquarium first."

That's when Attis said, "Oh yeah, I think Kaito and I met Momo-chan's mother earlier. It's the reason why I'm here in the first place." Hanon and Rina looked surprised at that and Rina asked, "Is that true?!"

Attis nodded and said, "Yeah, actually she should be waiting right outside the aquarium. We saw her swim off towards this place after trying to tell us." Both Hanon and Rina looked at each other and Attis asked, "By the way, did something happen? The two of you had sad faces when I saw you."

The two girls were silent for a bit and Attis quickly said, "I'm sorry if I touched on something private. I won't say anymore." Hanon shook her head and said, "Don't worry about it Attis-san."

Suddenly the three of them heard shouting coming from the exhibition pool and Attis had a bad feeling about it. Hanon and Rina looked at each other and Rina said, "Sorry Attis-san, but there's something the two of us have to do."

As the two of them ran off, Attis pretended to be surprised at that and shouted, "Wait a minute!" When the two vanished from his sight he thought to himself, 'I'd better get going too. The feeling I have is getting stronger…'

Attis quickly made his way towards the pool where Momo was being held, and when he got there all he could find was Kaito standing by the pool. Attis ran over to it and saw a pink baby dolphin inside. Kaito noticed his approach and asked, "Hey Attis, do you know what's going on?"

"Sorry Kaito, I'm not too sure myself." Attis said. Then he focused on the dolphin in the tank and thought, 'Excuse me, but can you hear me?'

'Huh? W-who are you?' Momo asked in a scared voice. Attis thought, 'Don't worry I'm just a friend. I came to tell you that your mother is waiting for you outside. So please wait.' Momo seemed happy about that and said, 'Really? Mama's waiting for me outside.'

'Yeah, so just sit tight until the coast is clear.' Attis told Momo. Then he turned to Kaito and asked, "Were you with anyone Kaito?" He nodded and replied, "Lucia was with me, but she ran off somewhere, telling me to keep an eye on Momo-chan."

Attis nodded and said, "I see…" Then, Attis ran off saying, "I have something to take care of, so don't worry about it." Attis turned the corner and vanished from Kaito's sight before he could say anything. All he could think about was how weird things were turning out, and what the screams were all about.

In a deserted hallway, Attis changed into his usual fighting attire and made his way to the exhibition pool. Staying out of sight he saw Lucia, Hanon, and Rina in the middle of the pool, and down below, he thought he saw something and figured it was a water demon. Lucia was the one singing with Hanon and Rina giving support, and the song Lucia was singing was new to Attis, so he listened with interest.

Eventually the song came to an end, and everyone in the crowd cheered the three Princesses, and to top it all off, Momo's mother came jumping into the pool, with Momo being reunited with his mother. Everyone found it quite touching, even Attis, when he saw something dark appear from under the pool.

Knowing what it was, Attis quickly took out the Red Pearl and Aqualis saying, "Red Pearl Synchro." As the Red Pearl merged with Aqualis, a giant black crab surfaced, with a large Heartless emblem on its head. Everyone was shocked at the Heartless' appearance, and Lucia, Hanon, and Rina were shocked as well. Momo and his mother quickly backed away as the Heartless crab turned to the two dolphins and they were scared, but the mother quickly went in front of crab to protect Momo.

The Heartless raised a claw at the two dolphins, ready to strike with Lucia shouting, "Oh no! Watch out!" As the crab was about to bring down its claw at the two dolphins, Aqualis came flying in and it hit the Heartless' claw, knocking it back. Aqualis bounced off and Attis managed to catch it. With that Attis sent a mental message to the two dolphins, 'Get out of here now you two!'

The two dolphins nodded and the both of them jumped over the wall that separated the pool from the ocean, and the two swam to safety. Suddenly Attis heard a click in his mind and saw that his Scan ability had just come back to him. Smirking under the mask, Attis saw that the Heartless' name was Crustatos and that it was quite strong.

With the dolphins gone, Crustatos' attention turned to the Mermaid Princesses, who looked worried until Attis dove into the pool, but not without throwing a Thunder spell at the Heartless, forcing it under. However Crustatos held a claw up and it released a weird odor into the air. The three Princesses found that it stank badly but to everyone else except Attis, they all fell unconscious due to the stink.

At that Attis dove into the water, but not without saying, "The three of you better get out of here, while I'll handle this overgrown crab." Lucia, Hanon, and Rina quickly complied with that and managed to jump to the edge of the pool and stood there still in their idol forms. The three looked in the water, and saw that Attis was fighting the crab.

Under the water, Attis was having a hard time fighting Crustatos since it seemed quite fast in the water, and having cast Haste on himself didn't improve the situation much. He managed to get in a few hits, but the main problem was the claws. For a huge crab, it was quite fast and when he tried knocking one away, the other one would take it's place.

With that, Attis started to look slightly beat up but kept on trying to attack, but most of the time he found himself trying to avoid the crab's attacks. He thought to himself, 'Shoot, I can't get in close, and those claws are able to block my spells…' Attis nearly avoided a blow to the head and tried a Thunder spell again.

Surprisingly, Attis found it quite effective against Crustatos, but felt a backlash from the spell as Aqualis and his arm felt as if he was electrocuted for a second. He winced at the pain and thought, 'Talk about a backlash effect; that stings really bad!' Attis pointed Aqualis over his head and whispered, "Cure!" A wave of healing magic washed over him and he felt relief from the pain.

Unfortunately Attis saw that Crustatos was starting to recover and it started to attack him again. Not being able to just stand by and watch anymore, Lucia, Hanon, and Rina looked at each other with Rina saying, "Let's try and sing like the last time. Hopefully it will help Ace fight better against that Heartless."

Lucia and Hanon nodded, and the three started to sing Legend of Mermaid, directing it towards the pool. Down below, Attis heard the song and turned to Crustatos to see if it was having any effect on it. To his shock however, the crab Heartless seemed to be resisting the song, and to show it, it attack Attis with one of it's claws.

As Attis managed to dodge it, there was one thing that he had noticed. It was that Crustatos' speed had fallen a bit thanks to Legend of Mermaid. Taking that chance, Attis cast Haste on himself again and started to attack the crab Heartless.

Soon the Heartless looked quite battered, and with Haste now expired, Attis couldn't help but feel exhausted from all the swinging. That's when he heard that Legend of Mermaid was about to finish and Attis started to worry, as Crustatos still looked like it was still able to put up a fight, and to top it off, Attis felt he wouldn't be able to hold out for much longer. He thought to himself, 'I need to finish this now! But I don't think I have enough strength though…'

As Crustatos was about to attack, the red pearl in Aqualis started to shine. With it Attis started to feel power building up in him, like the last time when he fought the Neo-Shadows. Knowing exactly what it was, Attis unleashed the power saying, "Hmph, you're through now!"

With Attis' Limit Break ability activated, he quickly cast another Haste spell on himself before rushing straight at Crustatos and started attacking it with a fury of strikes. Back above the water, Lucia, Hanon, and Rina felt the pulse of energy that came from the Red Pearl, and the Red Pearl seemed to slightly resonate with their own pearls. Lucia looked at the Pink Pearl in her e-pitch and asked, "What's going on?"

Before either Hanon or Rina could answer, there was a huge splash, and when the three of them looked, they saw Crustatos flying in the air. Then there was another splash, and Attis was flying up with Aqualis in hand, heading straight for Crustatos. The three Mermaid Princesses were taken aback by the sudden appearance of the two, while Attis didn't seem to notice.

Now with Crustatos in the air and totally helpless, Attis went on the full offensive, attacking the Heartless with such intensity from his Limit Break, that it left Lucia, Hanon, and Rina speechless at the scene. Then Attis made a finishing move by slamming Aqualis down right on Crustatos' head, sending it plummeting down to the pool. To add to that, Attis quickly pointed Aqualis to the Heartless and shouted, "Thunder!"

A lightning bolt shot from Aqualis' tip and hit Crustatos, completely electrocuting it. With the Heartless completely defeated, it dissipated before it even sunk into the pool, releasing a bright red heart. The three Princesses watched as the heart flew into the sky before vanishing completely. Then there was a sudden splash and the three turned to see Attis floating in the pool, swimming towards the railing.

Lucia, Hanon, and Rina ran over to Attis as he pulled himself out of the pool. They could hear him panting under the mask and Lucia asked, "Are you alright Ace?" Attis breathed deeply for a moment before he replied, "I'm fine Pink Princess. There's nothing to worry about."

Then Attis turned to Rina and said, "I don't think I've properly introduced myself to you Green Mermaid Princess. You can call me Ace for now, and I'm sure the Pink and Aqua Princesses told you a bit about what I've been doing."

Rina nodded, but her eyes were glued on the Red Pearl that was in Aqualis. Lucia and Hanon noticed it too when Attis made Aqualis vanish, catching the Red Pearl that was left behind. Attis saw the looks the three had and as he put the Red Pearl back in it's shell necklace, he explained, "I can see that the three of you are wondering about this," He held up the red shell necklace, and three pairs of eyes homed in on it, "I can't say much right now, since most of it is something even I don't know. All I can say now is that Aqua Regina gave this pearl to me for safekeeping. Sorry, but that's all I can tell you at the moment."

The three of them seemed to buy that story as they saw the audience starting to stir. He made his way to the exit saying, "The three of you better bolt, or you girls will be facing a very confused crowd that wants answers." With that, Attis quickly ran to the exit, with the three Mermaid Princesses following soon after.

Later, due to the disturbances at the exhibition pool, the staff announced that the aquarium would be closing early, and everyone made their way to the exits. Those at the pool only remembered the three Princesses singing to them and Momo being reunited with his mother before they fell unconscious. Some of them claimed that there was a giant black crab, but in the end, no one really knew what had happened.

Attis showed up in his regular attire to the exit, seeing Hanon and Rina with Hippo, who looked like was mauled from top to bottom, his tux not looking in it's best condition. Attis couldn't help but laugh quietly at the scene as he approached and said, "Hey, Hanon-san, Rina-san!"

The two turned to see Attis and Rina said, "Oh Attis-san, sorry for running off like that." Attis waved it off saying, "Don't worry about it, I'm more concerned with what happened to Hippo over there."

As Attis pointed to Hippo, the penguin looked like he was on the verge of bawling out right there and now. Hanon and Rina looked at each other with smug looks on their faces before Hanon told him, "Let's just say that he had quite the time at the penguin pool."

Hippo seemed to quiver at that as Attis said, "Quite the time huh? I don't think that's what I would call it. I did pass by penguin pool earlier, and seeing what I saw, let's just say it's better off forgetting about it, right Hippo?" At that point Hippo started bawling and Attis whispered to them, "I'd probably be like that too if I was manhandled the way he was."

Both Hanon and Rina raised an eyebrow at that when Attis said, "Well, I'd better get going, I'll see the two of you later, and say hi to Lucia for me if you see her." Attis then walked with the crowd out of the aquarium, leaving Hanon, Rina, and a bawling Hippo by themselves.

* * *

_Attis' apartment_

Later that night, Attis was back in his apartment, on his computer typing up a few notes about the Heartless' behavior in this world. He thought to himself, 'That crab only appeared by itself, when usually other Heartless would've accompanied it.'

Attis gave up on trying to materialize Solaris and Lunaria for now, thinking that when the time comes, he'll be able to summon them. Instead he started making profiles on the pearls and Mermaid Princesses he met so far. After making a three profiles about Lucia, Hanon, and Rina from what he knew about them, he tried thinking of the other Mermaid Princesses. He knew from the report that he read before heading out there were seven of them in total. Attis found that it wasn't a coincidence that the number of Mermaid Princesses was the same as the Princesses of Heart, and wondered if the two groups had similar powers, which would explain why the Heartless were going after the Mermaid Princesses explicitly, though he felt that the attacks so far were only recon types.

Attis made a fourth document, this time he put down what he knew about the other Mermaid Princesses. He knew that they were the Purple, Blue, Yellow, and Orange Mermaid Princesses left, but when he thought about the Purple and Blue Mermaid Princesses, he suddenly got a huge headache which made him hold his head and thought, 'Ugh, wh-what the heck was that?!'

The headache subsided and Attis wondered what it was all about. He lost his train of thought when the headache hit, so all he could do was finish the document with the sentence, 'Currently not found, status unknown.' Leaving the document at that, Attis closed it and turned off his laptop soon after. Seeing that it was a bit early, Attis decided to watch some T.V. when there was a knock on his door.

Going over to see who it was, Attis opened the door and found a deliveryman waiting outside. The deliveryman said, "Package for Attis Hale." Attis nodded and said, "That's me."

The deliveryman gave him a long package and produced a form for him saying, "Signature or stamp please." Attis took the pen from the deliveryman and signed the form, with the deliveryman saying, "Thank you very much." Then the deliveryman bowed and left, leaving Attis with the long package.

Taking it inside, Attis looked at it and saw that it said on the box that it was already paid for. Knowing that he didn't actually buy anything by package, he opened it carefully, and was surprised to see an electric guitar inside. He wondered what it was all about and thought that it might've been sent to the wrong person, but it had his name on it, so it had to mean something. That's when he saw an indent at the base that looked big enough to hold a pearl. Shaking it off he decided to store it away for now and went to sleep, trying to clear all the thoughts in his head, though a lingering thought said, 'Why did I have a headache when I thought about the Purple and Blue Mermaid Princesses? I don't even know them, I think…'


	6. Blizzard Rhapsody

Chapter 6 – Blizzard Rhapsody

_Maki's restaurant_

It was another day at Maki's restaurant, with Attis having his shift just ending. With the end of Golden Week, business started to ease up, though Attis still had to work hard due to the more than usual amount of customers. In the staff room Attis was preparing to leave when Maki came in and said, "Good work today Attis." Attis nodded and said, "Thank you very much Maki-san."

That's when Maki asked him, "You told me that you moved here just recently right? Do you know about the legend of the mermaid cave?" Attis looked at him and said, "Mermaid cave?"

Maki nodded and said, "It's a local legend around here. The story goes at how long ago; a mermaid fell in love with a human. Then a storm came up and the human was caught up in it. The mermaid revealed herself to him and using a candle, the mermaid led the man to a cave for shelter."

Attis found that story quite interesting and Maki saw it on Attis' face. He went on to say, "The cave the mermaid led the human to is usually underwater most of the year. However tomorrow the tide will drop and anyone will be able to enter." Attis asked, "I assume there's a purpose for that?"

A nod came from Maki and said, "They say now that if you burn an entire candle with your name and your partner's name on it, without the flame dying, and is kept inside the cave, mutual love will flourish." Attis looked at Maki as if he was crazy and asked, "When did they start saying that?"

Maki just shrugged his shoulders and said, "I don't really know, since it's been like that for as long as I remember." Attis got up and said, "Well, thanks for the info Maki-san, but I bet that story is more geared towards girls, isn't it?"

"Haha, yes it is." Maki said as he waved Attis off. Attis nodded and left the restaurant, thinking about the story. As he walked he thought, 'I wonder if that story's true for this world, since mermaids do actually exist.'

As Attis walked along the beachside, he found a storage hut and felt sleepy all of a sudden. He went over to the hut and opened the door, surprised to find it open. Suddenly, dark clouds started to form and he thought, 'Oh no, it looks like it's going to rain. Better get inside.'

Inside the hut, Attis went behind a few boxes and sat down, waiting for the storm to pass. All of a sudden he heard the door open again and heard two people walk in. From the voices he heard, Attis recognized them as Lucia and Kaito, and thought, 'Lucia and Kaito? Guess they ran here for shelter.' Attis decided to ignore them, and he went back to his thoughts.

Silence continued throughout the room, with Lucia and Kaito in front of a makeshift fire, having not noticed that Attis was in the room. That's when Attis heard Kaito say something about seeing a girl he knew in Lucia, and Attis thought, 'Is he talking about Lucia's mermaid form?'

That's when Lucia started saying things that sounded quite spiteful, and Attis guessed that Kaito was mad at that. That's when he heard a slam and a squeak from Lucia, and Attis had to take a look to see what was going on. Carefully looking over the boxes, Attis saw Kaito holding Lucia up against the wall, with Kaito looking quite angry. That's when he heard Lucia say, "Even though you always think about her, she can't possibly exist! It's weird! You're weird Kaito-!"

This surprised Attis a bit but what really caught him off guard was when he saw Kaito kiss Lucia in the middle of her speech. Attis quickly ducked down, not really wanting to see that sort of thing. Then he heard Lucia shout, "No!" and then there was a slapping noise, which Attis assumed that Lucia slapped Kaito.

There was a moment of silence, then Attis decided to speak up saying, "Okay you two, it's time to break it up."

Attis' sudden voice surprised the heck out of Lucia and Kaito as Attis himself got up and walked from behind the boxes. Kaito asked him, "How long have you been here?" Attis answered him, "I've been here before you two came in Kaito."

That's when the rain started to clear up and Attis walked towards the door saying, "Don't worry, I won't say anything about what just happened here." Then Attis opened the door and promptly walked out, leaving Lucia and Kaito by themselves.

Soon after, as Attis walked down the beach, Kaito caught up with him saying, "Wait up Attis!" Attis turned around and said, "Oh, Kaito…"

That's when Kaito asked something that caught Attis slightly off guard, "Could I talk to you about something?" Attis was silent at that before he replied, "Uh, sure…I guess…"

Kaito seemed relieved at that and said, "Let's head to my place then." Attis nodded and followed Kaito over to his house. As they walked Attis couldn't help but think, 'I wonder if this is about what happened back there.'

* * *

_Kaito's house_

When they reached Kaito's house he saw that it was quite the place. That's when they went up to the front door and Kaito opened it. The two of them went in and Attis took a quick look around at the place. The inside reminded Attis of Taro's place a bit, and that's when Attis noticed something and asked, "You live alone?"

"Yeah…how did you know?" Kaito said. Attis just said, "The place has that kind of feel. I should know, since I live by myself too." Kaito asked him, "Where are you're parents?"

Attis twitched a bit at that before he replied, "Don't know, I've been an orphan for as long as I remember." Kaito winced at that and said, "Sorry about that Attis." Attis shook his head and said, "Don't worry about it. What about you, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Died in an accident." Kaito said shortly. Attis nodded and said, "Sorry to hear that Kaito." The two went over to the living room and sat down in chairs. That's when Kaito asked out of the blue, "Before I say anything, I need to ask: do you believe in mermaids?"

Attis was silent for a bit and Kaito was expecting Attis to say no. To his surprise, Attis' response was, "Sure I do. I mean, I have seen some mermaids before, despite my memory problems." Seeing how calmly Attis replied, Kaito was thrown off guard for a second. Then he recovered and said with relief, "I see…"

Seeing the look on Kaito's face, Attis asked, "I'm guessing this is about what happened between you and Lucia earlier?" Kaito nodded and said, "It's just what she said just made me so mad, saying that she doesn't exist…" Deciding to let that slide, Attis went on, "And what about the kiss? I don't think you did that just to shut her up."

Kaito sighed and said, "I-I don't know what came over me that time. I guess some things just came out when she kept on talking…" Attis sighed and said, "Okay, I'd admit that Lucia did say some unnecessary things," 'Considering that who she was berating was herself from what I can gather.' Attis added as a thought, "But I think you shouldn't have said those things in the beginning. I think they set her off somehow, but I'm not sure about that."

Again, Kaito sighed and said, "Well, I saw the singing girl I met in Lucia earlier, and I guess I wasn't thinking too clearly when I said it."

Rubbing his head, Attis had no clue had to help. Not an expert on things like relationships, all he could say was, "I don't know exactly what to tell you, but all I can say now is give it some time. When things calm down, why don't you apologize to her? I'm sure Lucia's feeling bad about what she said to you Kaito."

Kaito seemed to look a bit better, and that's when Attis got up and said, "Don't worry about it too much Kaito." That's when he made his way to the door, until Kaito called out to him asking, "Attis, have you ever been in a relationship?"

Attis turned his head, and Kaito could've sworn that he saw sadness in Attis' eyes as he replied, "No, I haven't actually…" Kaito felt something in Attis' tone of voice but he couldn't tell what it was as Attis said, "Sorry, but I gotta run Kaito. I'll see you later."

"Uh, sure. See you later Attis." Kaito said. He heard Attis give a sigh as he left the house and thought, 'I wonder what happened to him…?'

* * *

_Attis' apartment – outside_

Later, Attis returned to his apartment after doing a bit of research about the Mermaid Cave legend. He didn't get much out of it, as what he found was what Maki already told him, and what he mainly heard was the part about burning an entire candle. There were not many specifics about the legend itself, and no one seemed to know more than that. So he returned to his apartment after the fruitless search, only to find Rina at her door. He walked towards her saying, "Oh Rina-san, hello there."

Rina turned to see Attis and said, "Oh, hi there Attis-san." Attis eyed Rina for a second and saw that part of her shirt was ruffled up, so he asked, "Did something happen? Your shirt's a bit ruffled up." She looked down and saw the spot where Lucia cried a bit ruffled. She told him, "Ah, it's nothing, just something that happened to Lucia…"

Taking a wild guess, he said, "I'm guessing it involves Kaito, didn't it?" Rina seemed surprised at that and said, "How did you know?!"

Thinking about it for a second, Attis decided to tell Rina what happened back at the hut, yet sounding a bit subdued. He left out the part about the talk between him and Kaito, while Rina looked quite surprised at the fact that Attis was there to begin with; she had already heard most of the story from Lucia herself. Instead she asked, "So, you just left?"

"Pretty much…I would've liked to help them if I could, but I have no experience in relationships and such." Attis told Rina. Then she got curious and asked, "So you've never been in a relationship before?"

Attis gave Rina the same look he gave Kaito for a second, which Rina happened to notice. Then he closed his eyes and gave a sigh saying, "Yeah, I've been just too busy with things, you know?" As he said that Rina thought, 'What was with that look of sadness…?'

Rina nodded and said, "Yes…well, I guess I'll see you later then." Attis nodded and said, "Yeah, see you later." As Attis went into his apartment, Rina was still wondering about that look he gave her as she went inside her own apartment.

* * *

_Mermaid Cave_

"Hmm, what am I doing here exactly?" Attis asked himself. The next day, Attis had made his way over to the Mermaid cave after finishing work. He got the directions from Maki after work and made his way over to the cave out of curiosity. When he got there all he found were a whole bunch of girls coming in and out of the cave.

Over at the entrance Attis saw Lucia, Hanon, and Rina go in and thought, 'Why am I not surprised?' That's when he heard Kaito's voice say, "Attis? What are you doing here?"

Attis turned around to see Kaito walking up to him. He replied, "Just curious about the Mermaid Cave, though I starting to wonder what I'm doing here… I take it you're looking for Lucia?" Kaito nodded and Attis told him, "I saw her, Hanon-san, and Rina-san go into the cave just now. She'll probably be out in a few minutes or so."

"I see…" Kaito said. Looking around a bit more, Attis said, "Hmm, I think that I'll get going now, I'm not sure why I even came here in the first place. I'll see you later Kaito."

"Yeah, see you later." Kaito replied. Attis left the area thinking to himself, thinking that he might as well head back to his apartment for now. However, he didn't get too far when suddenly a fierce wind started to blow and it started to look like a blizzard. Attis thought to himself, 'This is definitely not normal, I'd better check it out.'

Changing into his cloak and mask, Attis made his way back to the Mermaid Cave, only to see the other girls running away in the opposite direction. The storm got even fiercer as Attis got closer. That's when he saw a flash of light from above and thought, 'Hmm, nice sign.'

As Attis reached the place, he started to hear the three Princesses started to sing Legend of Mermaid, with a woman in a pale blue dress and having pale blond hair in front of them, which Attis figured was a water demon. Making sure he wasn't seen, Attis saw that the storm started to stop as the song went on. Soon light started to glow from the hole in the middle and Attis noticed that it was right about the inside of the cave. The light started to get stronger and Attis felt the red pearl in his pocket starting to resonate a bit to the song.

Soon the song ended with the three Princesses shouting, "Love Shower Pitch! How about an encore?" The woman, which Attis' scan ability identified as Maria, looked angry and said, "Damn you…!" Suddenly a Red Nocturne appeared from behind Maria, which made Lucia point at it and say, "What's that?!"

Maria was about to turn around when the Red Nocturne cast a Fire spell at Maria, lighting her butt on fire. She yelped in pain and used her ice powers to put it out as she ran away from it. That's when Blue Rhapsodies, Yellow Operas, and more Red Nocturnes popped up. Maria looked at them and said, "What are these things?! Ugh, I can't deal with them now." She promptly vanished right after she spoke.

This left Lucia, Hanon, and Rina alone to deal with the magical Heartless when Attis managed to run up to them with Aqualis in hand. They watched as Attis slashed at a Red Nocturne hard, destroying it and releasing a heart. He had to dodge a Yellow Opera's Thunder spell a moment later and Attis fell back to where the three Princesses were standing. Attis told them, "You three get out of here, I can handle these scrubs."

That's when Attis went back to fighting the Heartless and both Lucia and Hanon couldn't help but think how cute the Heartless looked. That's when Rina nudged at them and said, "Let's get going; it looks like Ace-san can handle himself." Sure enough, they saw Attis whack a few more Heartless into oblivion even though more started to pop up. Lucia and Hanon nodded and they followed Rina down the hill, leaving Attis to deal with the Heartless as they transformed back.

Fighting the magical Heartless wasn't that hard, although it did require a lot of jumping on Attis' part. Eventually the numbers started to decrease, though Green Requiems started to show up at the last part. Attis made those Heartless his top priority in targets since they would be able the heal other Heartless with their type of magic.

A few minutes later, Attis manage to get rid of most of the Heartless, but there was this one last Red Nocturne that seemed to be able to evade most of Attis' attacks. It even was able to dodge some of his Blizzard spells. Finding it a bit frustrating Attis snarled, "C'mon, just die already!"

Suddenly, the Red Nocturne started to envelop in a ball of darkness for a second, and when the darkness past, he saw that the Red Nocturne had changed in appearance. It seemed a bit bigger and the hat and upper rim of it's body was a bright orange, with most of it's body being black now. Attis' scan ability identified it and he whispered, "A Scarlet Tango huh? Let's see what it can do…"

The Scarlet Tango fired off fireballs that bounced on the ground, much to Attis' surprise. However, aside from that he didn't find it difficult to defeat, and with a slice right down the middle, the Scarlet Tango dissipated with a burst, with the heart it held flying into the sky and out of sight. Attis sighed and said, "That wasn't too hard, despite all the jumping."

Looking around, Attis noticed the hole that was nearby and decided to take a peek. He was just in time to see Lucia and Kaito together, and the two of them walked out of the cave together. Attis thought to himself, "Looks like the two of them made up from the looks of things…" Giving a sigh, Attis made his way down to the nearby forest, feeling a bit strained.

Usually Attis would look around to check to see if everything was clear, but feeling a bit tired, he didn't do that. Unfortunately for him, Rina, back in her regular clothes, noticed Attis going into the forest. Hanon who was beside her said, "Rina, something the matter?"

"Sorry, but I need to check on something." Rina told her, and she ran off into the forest before Hanon could say anything else. As Rina followed Attis, she remembered that she was suspicious of 'Ace', since his identity was hidden behind a mask. Rina followed Attis for a bit until he suddenly stopped, and Rina quietly went over to a nearby tree and watched.

Attis' back was turned to her but Rina watched as Attis removed his mask and it promptly vanished, making her wonder where it went. Over to Attis, he felt Rina's presence from behind him and decided to say a little something. Thanks to the hood over his head, Attis' face was mostly hidden, with only his mouth showing underneath. With his back still turned to her, Attis called out in a deeper than usual voice, "You know, I wonder what you wanted Green Mermaid Princess, for you to be following me like that…"

Rina nearly freaked out when she was addressed, and tried to hide herself. Attis heard what she was trying to do and said, "You can come out you know, it's not like I'm going to attack you or anything." There was a moment of silence before Attis heard rustling of leaves from behind and Rina came out. Attis turned towards her and Rina was taken aback when she saw that most of Attis' face was covered, only revealing his mouth.

There was a moment of silence between them until Attis asked, "So, is there something you wanted to ask me Green Mermaid Princess?" Rina looked at him and asked, "Who are you really? I know that Ace isn't you're real name."

Attis just smirked, which seemed to make Rina feel a bit angry, and he replied, "I…can't say right now. All I can tell you is that I'm here protect you and the Mermaid Princesses from the Heartless."

Rina decided to push it a bit further and asked, "Can we really trust you…? You hide your identity from us, and you even knew that that I was the Green Mermaid Princess…" Attis smiled and said, "Of course, since your shell pendant made it obvious." Rina clutched her pendant as Attis said, "You know, it kinda goes both ways you know, since I don't know the Pink, Aqua, and your names either."

There was a moment of silence before Rina said, "If that's the problem, then I don't mind telling you my name. It's-!" But Rina was cut off by Attis raising his hand and saying, "There's no need to tell me your name. All I'm here to do is to protect you and the other Princesses from the Heartless, and find this world's Keyhole while I'm at it." Thanks to his amnesia, he couldn't remember if he sealed this world's Keyhole ten years ago.

Attis knew that he was being a bit cruel towards Rina, but he couldn't help it, since it was one of the Keypers regulations to keep minimum contact with the world's residence if possible. Attis tried to remedy the situation by saying, "Look, I'm not saying this because I want to, it's just better this way. And anyway, the Heartless only come out when you sing right? The three of you won't be in constant danger which is obviously good."

Rina gave him a look that sent a chill down Attis' spine and turned around and said, "I need to get going. I'll see you the next time the Heartless come after the three of you, Green Mermaid Princess." As Attis was about to leave Rina asked, "Just one more thing, are you the Keyblade warrior that helped Aqua Regina-sama ten years ago?"

Attis was silent for a moment as he stood there, until he turned his head and said, "I can't say, since I'm not too sure of it myself." That didn't make much sense to Rina as Attis quietly walked away from Rina, leaving her in the middle of the forest.

Making sure there was no one around Attis managed to take off his cloak and it vanished as well. Making his way to the main street, he headed back to his apartment, giving a sigh at the confrontation between him and Rina. He thought, 'Honestly, I wasn't expecting Rina-san to confront me like that. I need to be more careful from now on.'

* * *

_Attis' apartment_

Later, Attis returned to his apartment much later than usual, since he went to a couple of shops looking for a new T.V., since the one he had somehow short circuited last night. After finding a portable flat screen T.V. that was reasonably priced, Attis headed back home after placing the order.

Inside his apartment, Attis just sat down on his bed, taking out the Red Shell necklace and just sighed. Up to date, this mission was the most complicated one Attis ever had. He usually went on missions that involved eliminating Heartless and that's it. Attis wondered why Halit sent him on this particular mission since it looked like it needed more than one person on the job.

As Attis shifted through the memories he had, he started to get a headache again, and held his head and winced as the pain subsided. When the headache was gone, Attis grumbled and thought, 'Shoot, that's the second time that happened. I think that I'll have it checked when I get back.'

That's when Attis realized something about his situation. Since he was sent ten years into the future, then the time back in the world of the Keypers' HQ would've passed by the same amount. This depressed Attis a bit, but he resolved himself, as he remembered that he made a promise to himself that he would complete all the missions that were given to him, no matter what happened.

With that thought strengthening Attis' resolve for now, he went over to his bed and went to sleep. Before he closed his eyes, Attis wondered if the Keypers organization was still around, and wondered if Halit was still the same as usual, if he was still around. Attis smirked as he rolled over and fell asleep.


	7. The Green Mermaid's Eye

Chapter 7 – The Green Mermaid's Eye

_Attis' apartment_

Giving out a yawn, Attis was in front of his computer, going over a few things. That's when he looked over to the ticket that he received from Maki-san earlier today. He said that it was a reward from him for working so hard. It was a ticket for a showing for something called the Mermaid's Eye, a rare gem that was discovered in the North Atlantic Ocean. At first Maki offered the ticket to him, and Attis was a bit skeptical at first, but when he heard about the gem in more detail, Attis accepted it without hesitation.

Wondering if the gem had any possible connections to the mermaids, Attis made plans to see the gem tomorrow, and figured it was worth a look. That's when the doorbell rang and Attis said, "Coming!"

Rushing over to the door to see who it was, Attis opened the door to find a deliveryman holding a thin box. Taking a look at it, Attis recognized the size of box as the T.V. that he had ordered a few days ago, and he quickly signed the form and accepted the package. As the deliveryman left, Attis quickly took the package inside and opened it, revealing the T.V. that he had purchased.

After setting it up, Attis left his apartment to search for the cruise ship that would be hosting the viewing, since he didn't know exactly where it was. Luckily for him, there were instructions on the ticket that told him where the cruise ship was going to be, so there wasn't a problem. As soon as he left, Attis nearly bumped into Rina, who was heading back to her own apartment. He said, "Oh, sorry about that Rina-san."

"It's okay…you going out?" Rina asked. Attis nodded and said, "Yeah, I have to check something out." That's when Rina noticed the ticket in Attis' hand and recognized it saying, "You're going to the Mermaid's Eye viewing?"

Attis slightly raised an eyebrow at that as he nodded and asked, "Yes I am, I take it you're going too Rina-san?"

When Rina nodded back Attis said, "I see, well then, I guess I'll see you there." With that Attis closed the door to his apartment, and gave a wave to Rina before taking off. Rina watched him leave and as he turned the corner, she thought she saw something red sticking out of his pocket. She blinked and thought, 'Wonder what that was…'

* * *

_Harbor_

After a long walk, Attis managed to find the place where the cruise ship was docked. When he made a mental note of the place, Attis headed back to his apartment, planning on stopping by a convenience store first. He didn't get too far though, as a couple of thugs approached him and blocked his way. They were leering at Attis, and wondering what they could possibly want, he asked, "Can I help you guys with something?"

One of the thugs replied, "Yeah, by giving us all of your money and valuables!" Attis couldn't believe what he was hearing and said, "What makes you thugs thing I even have any money on me?"

The other thug leered at him and said, "We bet you're loaded, I mean, just look at you!"

Since Attis was only wearing his black jeans, an open black dress shirt, and a brown t-shirt underneath, he couldn't figure out how the thugs came to that conclusion. Attis just shook his head and said, "Whatever you two, I'm outta here." He turned around to go the other way, only to find two more thugs behind him. That's when one of the thugs said, "Looks like we're going to have to do this the hard way. Okay guys, let's get him!"

About five minutes later, Hanon was passing by, since she was on an errand Nikora sent her on. When she passed the harbor, she though she heard a scuffle sound coming from the place. She looked over to the harbor and thought, 'What was that…?'

Hanon was considering going over to check it out, but decided against it for a couple of reasons, one of which was that she needed to return to Pearl Piari ASAP. Suddenly she heard a familiar voice shout, "You guys want some more?!"

'That sounded like Attis-san!' Hanon thought. She quickly ran over to the harbor area and tried to locate the sound of what sounded like fighting. When she turned a corner, Hanon found Attis surrounded by four fallen thugs, all who looked unconscious. Attis himself looked beaten up, with his black shirt torn up a bit, and his face dirtied with a few scrapes.

Attis heard Hanon approaching and he turned to see her standing near a metal crate, looked shocked at the scene. He said casually, "Oh, Hanon-san, what are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing!" Hanon said, as she walked over to Attis, "What happened to you?"

Attis pointed over to the fallen thugs as he walked towards Hanon, "Those guys tried to jump me, but I managed to beat them back." Taking a closer look, Hanon saw that Attis had a cut lip and said, "You look horrible! Let me take you back to Pearl Piari, so you can get cleaned up."

"…No, it's alright. I can handle myself." Attis said, trying to convince Hanon that he was fine. Hanon was about to say something when she saw one of the thugs get up and sneak towards Attis' back. That made her shout, "Look out!"

In a quick motion, Attis swung around, giving the thug that was about to attack a hard kick to the thug's side, sending him flying into a wall of metal crates, knocking the thug out on impact. Hanon was speechless at that, while Attis stared to wobble a bit and said, "You know, I think I'll take you up on that offer after all Hanon-san…"

Hanon seemed to snap out of it when she saw Attis starting to wobble a bit. That's when Attis stood upright and checked his pockets to make sure that his wallet, the ticket, and the shell necklace were all still there. When he found that they were, Attis followed Hanon out of the harbor, with her asking, "Do you need help?"

Attis shook his head saying, "I can walk Hanon-san." Hanon nodded and she led the way to Pearl Piari.

* * *

_Pearl Piari_

By the time Attis and Hanon reached Pearl Piari, Attis could've sworn that his head was aching. When the two reached the hotel's entrance, Hanon turned to Attis, just in time to see a drop of blood fall down Attis' face from his forehead. She screamed and shouted, "Ah, Attis-san! You're bleeding!"

Hanon's scream attracted the attention of Pearl Piari's occupants, as the front door swung open, revealing Lucia, Nikora, Taki, and Hippo at the door. Lucia said, "Hanon why are you-?!" Then she and the others saw Attis in his beaten up state, who just wiped off the blood on his face and said, "Hi everyone."

Nikora quickly ushered the two inside as she asked, "What happened to you Attis-san?" Attis looked at everyone as the door closed behind him and replied, "I got jumped by some thugs down at the harbor. I managed to fight them off though, so it's no big deal."

Shaking her head in disbelief, Nikora said, "I'm glad to see you're alright at least. Lucia, Hanon, could you two please find the first aid and sewing kits and bring them to me?"

The two girls nodded and they ran off to get the mentioned items, while Nikora brought Attis over to the dining area, with Taki and Hippo following closely behind. When they reached the dining room, Nikora asked, "Could you please take off your shirt Attis-san?"

Attis complied without a word, and took off his black dress shirt, revealing a few more scrapes on his arms. That's when Lucia and Hanon came back with a first aid and sewing kit, as Lucia said, "Here you go, Onee-chan."

"Thank you very much girls." Nikora said, taking the two kits from them. Then she gave the sewing kit and Attis' shirt to Maki and asked, "Could you take care of this Taki-san?" Taki gave a nod and took the two items from Nikora saying, "Of course."

As Taki got started on sewing up Attis' shirt, Nikora turned to Attis and said, "Now, let's get you cleaned up. But if you don't mind me asking, what exactly happened back at the harbor?"

Attis gave a sigh, and as Nikora treated him, Attis told everyone what happened at the harbor. Hanon added a bit to the story since she was there too, which was surprising to say the least. When Attis was done, Nikora had finished bandaging his head, which he had two cuts on his forehead that were hidden by his bangs, and there were band-aids on his arms and face. Taki was halfway through sewing up the rips in Attis' shirt, while Nikora got up and said, "I'll go make some tea."

As Nikora got up and left for the kitchen, Lucia and Hanon went over and sat down at the table Attis was sitting at. Lucia looked at Attis in concern and asked, "Are you feeling better Attis-san?"

Attis touched his head a bit and replied, "I'm feeling much better Lucia-san." He sighed and said, "To think, trying to find the ship where the Mermaid's Eye viewing was taking place would lead to something like that…" Hanon looked at him and said, "Mermaid's Eye viewing? You mean that viewing involving a rare gem that's being viewed on a cruise ship?"

"Yeah, that one…You've heard of it?" Attis asked. Hanon nodded and said, "It's been the talk of the town lately." Lucia had no clue what they were talking about and asked, "Mermaid's Eye? What's that?"

Hanon rolled her eyes and said, "It's a viewing on a cruise ship of a rare gem that's being held tomorrow evening. Don't you listen to the news?" Lucia pouted and said, "Well sorry about that!"

Soon, Nikora came back with some tea for everyone, while Taki had finished sewing up Attis' shirt. She got up and walked over to Attis, and handed back his shirt to him saying, "Here you go Attis-san." Attis took the shirt saying, "Thank you Taki-san."

Taki nodded and went back to her seat. Nikora came by and gave everyone tea saying, "If you want, you can stay for the night Attis-san." Attis shook his head lightly and replied, "No, it's alright. I don't think I'll be bothered by those guys again after what I put them through." Hanon nodded and said, "I can vouch for that."

Nikora nodded and went over to the table Taki was sitting at. As Attis drunk the tea he was given, he saw Lucia starting to look depressed and asked, "Something wrong Lucia-san? You don't look like yourself."

At that time, both Nikora and Taki left the room to attend to business, while Lucia decided to tell Attis the entire story of Kaito and the older girl. When she finished Attis said, "So Kaito's been hanging out with an older girl huh? And that's what you're worried about?"

"If you ask me, it looks like he's doing well." Hanon said. Hippo nodded in agreement while Lucia shouted, "This isn't the time to be admiring him!" Attis smirked and asked, "I doubt that Kaito is the type that would go after an older girl though…"

"Eh? What makes you say that Attis-san?" Lucia asked. Attis finished his tea as he replied, "It's just a feeling I get. I really can't see him going after an older girl." Lucia seemed to feel a bit better hearing Attis say that, but she still had doubts in her mind. That's when Hanon said, "You make it sound like you're an expert on this sort of thing Attis-san."

"Ha, no way. I don't know everything, and I'm only seventeen, so I still don't know a lot." Lucia and Hanon seemed surprised at Attis' age as he got up and said, "Thank you for everything girls, and please thank Nikora-san and Taki-san for me too."

Lucia and Hanon got up and escorted Attis to the door, and when he was about to leave, Attis said, "If you ask me, Kaito looks better with you Lucia-san, then some other girl." This earned a blush from Lucia, which made Attis smirk and say, "Well, I'll see the two of you sometime." With that Attis left Pearl Piari, leaving a red Lucia and a curious Hanon.

* * *

_Cruise ship – viewing hall_

The next evening, Attis was in the viewing hall beside Rina, looking at the Mermaid's eye; a green gem that sparkled in the light. When the two met on the ship, Rina had already heard what happened to Attis from Lucia and Hanon, and asked if he was alright. After assuring her that he was just fine, Attis and Rina made their way to the viewing hall, where the Mermaid's Eye was being held.

As Rina looked at it and her thoughts drifted back to her kingdom, Attis was eyeing the gem too but had different thoughts about it, 'Hmm, why do I feel a bit of magical energy coming from the gem? Is it really related to the Mermaid Princesses?'

Attis turned to Rina and she was still in thought, so Attis kept silent for a bit, and just looked at the gem. That's when Rina turned to Attis and for a second, she thought she saw him in his cloak and mask, but blinked only to find just Attis standing there. She shook her head and thought, 'What was that all about?' Attis looked at her and asked, "Something wrong Rina-san?"

"…No, everything's fine." Rina replied. Suddenly the power on the ship was cut, putting out most of the lights. Everyone was in a panic, until they saw the Mermaid's Eye being stolen by Eriru. Although, her beating the guards at the viewing so easily made Attis really wonder about the security of the place. That's when he saw Rina run out of the room after Eriru and Attis made his way to another part of the ship.

When Attis got changed, he made his way to the deck and looked into the water. He looked down and thought, 'Ugh, a long way down, but there's not much choice. The person that stole the gem was a water demon.' With that Attis jumped into the water and tried to see where the demon swam off to, but since it was night, it was hard to see.

Suddenly he heard a very loud noise coming from a place nearby and said, "What's with the racket?" Attis was about to swim over to the source when Hanon appeared beside him saying, "Ace-san? What are you doing here?"

"A water demon stole the Mermaid's Eye." Attis said, "Not to mention, this horrid sound comes out of nowhere. Let's hurry, the other Princesses might be in danger." Hanon nodded at that and the two swam towards the source of the noise.

It didn't take long to find the source, as Lucia and Rina were being blasted by music coming from shells surrounding them. Eriru was in front of them gloating so much that she didn't notice Hanon and Attis approaching her. They took one look at each other before Hanon went up to Eriru and yanked the controller she had out of her hand saying, "That won't happen!"

Eriru looked surprised to see Hanon as she said, "We came to find out what this loud music was!" Then she held the controller out to Attis and said, "Ace, will you do the honors?"

"Of course Aqua Princess." Attis replied. He materialized Aqualis as Hanon threw the controller. In one swift motion, Attis shattered the controller with one slash, making Eriru shout, "Shoot!" Then she pointed to Attis saying, "Who the heck are you?"

"That's none of your concern miss." Attis simply replied, while Hanon transformed into her Idol form. That's when they started to sing Legend of Mermaid, which started to have an effect on Eriru. Attis watched the whole scene, still a bit stumped at how singing defeated water demons.

When it finished with their signature, line, Eriru vanished, sending the Mermaid's Eye down to the bottom of the sea. As Attis watched the gem fall, he heard Lucia ask, "Is this okay Rina?"

"Yeah…" Rina replied. Attis made a mental note where the gem fell as four beings popped out of nowhere, and to everyone's surprise, they were actually humans. Attis and Hanon recognized the beings as Hanon said, "I don't believe it, those are the guys that attacked Attis-san last night!"

"What was that?!" Lucia and Rina shouted. Attis wondered what happened when he saw Shadows attached to their backs. He realized what was happening as the four thugs transformed into Aquatank Heartless, which made Lucia ask, "What happened to them Ace-san?!"

"They were turned into Heartless…" Attis replied behind the mask. Hanon turned to him and asked, "Is there any way to return them to normal?"

Attis shook his head as an Aquatank tried to ram into the Mermaid Princesses, but bounced of the Live Stage barrier. However it left quite the crack in it as Attis went over to another Aquatank and slashed at it. The three Princesses took that chance to continue singing Legend of Mermaid, which started to affect the Heartless and made them jerk around a bit.

With the Aquatanks weakened somewhat, Attis took that chance to take each of them down, and managed to beat three of them. When he turned to the last one, Attis saw that Screwdivers had suddenly appeared around it. However, they too were weakened thanks to the song, but found that the song was starting to end.

Attis quickly made his way over to the group of Heartless and managed to beat all of the Screwdivers before Legend of Mermaid ended. As the song ended the Aquatank started to recover, but Attis was already behind it and was hacking away at it with his Keyblade. Eventually the Aquatank fell and the heart it held rose up from the fallen form and vanished.

The three felt slightly bad for what happened to the thugs, but after what happened to Attis their sympathy was limited. Attis turned to three Princesses and said, "You three better get out of here now. I'll stay and see if there are anymore Heartless around."

Lucia nodded and said, "Okay Ace-san." With that Lucia led the three of them away from the area, with Rina taking one last look at Attis with a slightly suspicious look on her face before she swam off. Attis noticed it and sighed saying, "She's still suspicious of me…well, can't say I blame her either."

That's when he looked down towards the seafloor and swam down towards it saying, "Now, where did that gem fall down to…?"

* * *

_Apartments_

Rina made it back to the apartments after the whole fiasco. She tried finding Attis back on the ship, but found no trace of him. Wondering where he went, she decided to head back home, since she knew that Attis was able to take care of himself.

As she approached her apartment, Rina was shocked to see Attis standing in front of her door, still in his cloak and mask. She narrowed her eyes and asked, "What are you doing here Ace? And how do you know where I live?!"

Attis smirked and replied, "Oh, I have my sources." Then he thought, 'Especially since I'm your neighbor.' Then he said, "Anyway, I just came by to give you something."

That's when Rina noticed Attis holding a pouch in his hands, which looked like it had something big in it. He tossed to her, which she caught it and asked, "What's in this?" Attis walked passed her saying, "Oh, it's something I believe that belongs to you…" Rina was confused by what Attis said as he turned the corner saying, "I'll see you later Green Princess."

As Attis turned the corner, Rina looked into the pouch, and was shocked to see the Mermaid's Eye inside of it. She looked towards the corner and thought, 'Did you stay behind to get this for me? Why…?'

Rina quickly closed the pouch and ran after 'Ace', only to bump right into Attis in his usual attire, nearly sending the two to the ground. Attis looked at her and said, "Oh, Rina-san, what's the hurry?"

Quickly reorienting herself, Rina asked, "Where were you Attis-san? I couldn't find you back on the cruise ship." Attis scratched his head and replied, "Well, things got a bit hectic when the lights went out, and when they came back on I was ushered by the guards to another area after the Mermaid's Eye got stolen. Somehow I got lost and it took awhile to get back to the entrance. I was going to look for you, but the guy at the entrance said that you'd already left."

Then Rina asked him, "Did you see a man in a black cloak and mask pass by Attis-san?!" Attis was a bit alarmed by Rina's urgency as he replied, "Uh, I didn't see anyone like that on my way up. Why, is something wrong?"

Seeing the slight confusion on Attis' face, Rina calmed down and said, "Um, no, nothing's wrong…" Attis said, "I see…well then, I guess I'll see you later Rina-san." As Attis walked off Rina said, "Y-yeah, see you later…"

When Attis was in his apartment, he sighed and whispered, "Whew that was a close one. Though I wasn't expecting Rina-san to try and run after me. Oh well…"

That's when Attis remembered the electric guitar that he received from a previous delivery. He took out from the place he put it and took the guitar out of it's package. Taking another look examining it, Attis' eyes fell on the indent that was the size of a pearl. As he took out the shell necklace from his pocket Attis thought, 'I couldn't hurt, I guess.'

Attis took out the red pearl from it's place and stuck it in the indent of the guitar. He waited for a moment, yet nothing happened. Attis sighed and said, "Haha, figures that it was just a coincidence…"

All of a sudden, the Red Pearl started to shine and it seemed to engulf the guitar in light. In other places, Lucia, Hanon, and Rina's pearls started to react to the Red Pearl, which made them wonder what he heck was going on. However, as soon as the power of the Red Pearl died down, the other pearls stopped reacting.

Attis looked up, ready if the Heartless were to appear. However nothing showed up, which made Attis curious and thought, 'That's weird, I thought the Heartless were attracted to the power of the pearls…'

Taking the Red Pearl out of the guitar, Attis quickly put everything away and went to his room to sit down on his bed. As he sat there his thoughts wandered off, this time onto his apartment. Thinking about it, the place had a kitchen, a living room, a bathroom, and two rooms, a few closets…, 'Wait, this place has another room?'

Walking out of his room, Attis looked around until he saw the other door. He looked at it and thought, 'I've been living here for a few weeks now, and it's just now I notice?' Shaking his head, Attis went over to the door and opened it, coughing as some dust as he looked into the room.

Attis saw that it was empty, as expected and thought, 'Hmm, this can be the guest room I guess, though it looks better as storage. I'll have to think about it.' Attis closed the door behind him, and went back to his room.

Putting the Red Shell necklace on his bedside table, Attis was about to go to bed when he remembered something. He went over to his laptop and flipped open, and when it turned back on from standby, he went into his documents and went to the file labeled 'Heartless'. Opening it he put in an entry about the thugs turning into Heartless before he closed his laptop and went to sleep, a bit too tired to think about it anymore.


	8. Surfing Trouble

Chapter 8 – Surfing Trouble

_Gaito's castle_

Gaito was in the throne room by himself, thinking about the current situation. He found it the recent reports from Maria and Eriru quite intriguing. Maria told him about the strange creatures that appeared after she was beaten by the Mermaid Princesses, and almost laughed when she mentioned that one of them lit her butt on fire. Then a few days later, Eriru told him of the person in the black cloak and mask that aided the Mermaid Princesses.

He found the two pieces of news to be quite interesting, but what Gaito found most intriguing was the weapon that the cloaked stranger wielded. Eriru said that it was in the shape of a giant key, which made him wonder. Gaito too heard of the story of the Keyblade wielder ten years ago and said, "Those creatures that Maria mentioned, could they be the Heartless that the story spoke of?"

Walking towards the pillar tanks that held Coco and Noel, he looked at them and said, "That masked person and the Keyblade wielder from ten years ago, I wonder if they're related…" That's when Noel's hand twitched and Gaito looked at it for a second, "Hmm? Must've been my imagination…"

Gaito walked off, and when he was out of sight, Noel's eyes opened for a bit before they closed again.

* * *

_Beachside_

Attis was walking along the beachside after work. It started to become a habit after working at Maki's restaurant for quite a while, and he found the walk to be quite relaxing. That's when he saw Kaito and his friends standing nearby, but Attis wasn't in the mood to talk. Suddenly there was a large amount of screaming from what sounded like fangirls, and Attis turned his head to see a surfer surrounded by girls heading down the beach.

Watching, Attis saw the surfer stop by Kaito for a moment and he said something to him. As the surfer left, Attis decided to see what that was all about. Kaito's friends left to go surfing as Attis walked up to him asking, "What was that all about?"

"Oh Attis. It was nothing, just the West Japan's surfing champion." Kaito told him. Attis asked, "West Japan's surfing champion?"

Kaito raised an eyebrow and asked, "You haven't heard about it?" Attis shook his head and said, "I've been busy lately, that I haven't been able to keep up with events."

A nod came from Kaito and he told Attis, "Well, there's a major surfing competition happening in a few days. I was the champion last year, so I'm going to enter again." Attis knew where Kaito was going with it and said, "You're going to defend your title right?"

Smiling, Kaito replied, "Of course, that's why I need to start practicing. I'll see you later Attis." Watching Kaito run towards the ocean with his surfboard, Attis thought to himself, 'Hmm, he sure knows how to work hard; I'll give him that…' Attis continued walking down the beachside, his thoughts turning to the Heartless.

Eventually Attis reached a forest that was beside the beach, and he didn't realize that he had traveled so far until he heard a scream, "Ah, monster!" Snapping out of his thoughts, Attis turned to see a couple run out of the forest and he shouted, "What's going on?!"

The couple stopped in front of Attis for a second as the male shouted, "A-A monster dog just appeared out of nowhere inside the forest!" The female shouted, "Let's get out of here!"

Watching the couple run away Attis had a sneaking suspicion about it and quickly materialized the black cloak and threw it on. Summoning Aqualis and making sure his face was hooded so that it couldn't be seen if someone were to suddenly pop up, Attis ran into the forest, where he heard snapping sounds. When he reached the source, he saw a Bully Dog and a few Bad Dogs in a clearing.

Just sighing at the scene, Attis held Aqualis and made a charge at one of the Bad Dogs. Dispatching it in an instant with a hard blow, Attis attacked the other Bad Dogs before the Heartless could get over the shock of the sudden attack. This decimated most of the other Bad Dogs, leaving only one left, along with the Bully Dog.

That's when the Bad Dog decided to jump and it tried to bite Attis, but he blocked it with Aqualis. The Bad Dog bit down on the Keyblade and Attis shook the weapon, trying to make the Heartless let go. He shouted, "Let go you stupid animal!"

Suddenly, Attis heard a loud bark and saw that the Bully Dog was running towards him, jaws open. He quickly jumped out of the way and used Aqualis to hit the Heartless in the side. Unfortunately for the Bad Dog, it didn't come out of it in one piece, as it was right in between the Bully Dog and Aqualis. The blow caused the Bad Dog to give a yelp before it blew up, releasing it's heart.

Now with only the Bully Dog left, Attis started to attack it, nearly getting bitten a few times. After a flurry of attacks, Attis managed to send the Heartless flying into the air with a combo and he finished it off with a Fire spell. The spell exploded on contact, finishing the Bully Dog off and it was defeated, with the heart it held floating into the air.

Checking to see if there was anymore Heartless in the area, Attis sighed and thought, 'It's the first time I've seen the Heartless just popping up in this world, without the Mermaid Princesses being around…' Seeing that there were no more Heartless, Attis made Aqualis vanish and he made his way out of the forest, taking off his cloak and making it vanish too.

Back on the beach, Attis just realized how far he had gone, and didn't find the area too familiar. Back tracking, a stray thought came across his mind, 'Where's the Keyhole in this world…?'

* * *

_City streets_

Attis was walking through the city streets, with a couple of grocery bags in his hands. Maki had sent Attis out to get some things that the restaurant was running low on. Considering that business was starting to slow down, there wasn't much Attis had to do when it came to his waiter duties.

As he walked down the streets, heading back to the restaurant, Attis saw Lucia sitting at a fountain writing something down, with someone he recognized as the surfer from yesterday. Standing near the fountain was Hanon, who seemed to be talking quite eagerly on the phone. Wondering what was going on, Attis decided to check things out for a bit thinking, 'Maki-san can wait for a bit longer…'

Walking up to Lucia and the surfer, Attis said, "Hi Lucia-san, what are you doing?" Lucia looked up from her notebook and said, "Oh Attis-san! I was just taking down some notes for a bento that I'm making."

"Yeah, Lucia-chan's going to make me an awesome bento!" The guy sitting near Lucia said. Judging from the look on Lucia's face, Attis wasn't too sure about that as he said, "Hi there, I'm Attis Hale, but I go by Attis. How about you?"

The guy replied, "Kousuke Sakiya, nice to meet you Attis-san." The two of them shook hands as Attis put down the bags that were in his right hand. Then Kousuke got up and picked up his surfboard saying, "Well then, I'd better get going. I look forward to the bento Lucia-chan!" As he walked away Attis heard Lucia say, "Geez, even though it's not for him. *sigh* Oh well…"

"…I'm taking a wild guess that you're going to make something for Kaito, right?" Attis asked. Lucia blushed a bit as she replied, "Yes, I am."

A nod came from Attis as he put his hand on Lucia's shoulder and said, "I wish you luck with that Lucia-san. I'm sure Kaito will enjoy whatever you make for him." Lucia seemed to brighten up at that and said, "Thank you Attis-san. I'll make the best bento for Kaito, for sure!" Lucia gripped her hand with determination as she said that.

Seeing Lucia all fired up, Attis picked up the bags from the ground and said, "I guess I'll see you later Lucia-san, I need to get back to work with these bags."

Lucia nodded and said, "Okay, see you later Attis-san!" Attis smiled and walked off, sighing to himself as he quickly made his way back to the restaurant.

* * *

_Beachside_

The next day, the surfing competition was underway, and Attis was there, waiting to watch the competition. Maki had let him off early, on the pretense that Attis would tell him who won the competition. Smirking to himself, Attis looked around until he saw Kaito walk by with his surfboard, and said, "Looks like you're in top form Kaito."

"Hey Attis, glad to see that you can make it." Kaito said. Attis smirked and said, "As if I'd miss seeing you win the competition."

Kaito laughed at that and said, "That's right!" For some reason though, Attis noticed a look in Kaito's eye and asked, "Something bothering you Kaito? You look a bit distracted for some reason…"

"N-no, I'm fine Attis, don't worry about it." Kaito told him. Attis looked at Kaito one last time and said, "If you say so…"

Attis followed Kaito down the beach, until they came across Lucia, Hanon, and Rina. Kousuke was there as well, eating something that looked like it came out of the basket that was in front of Lucia on the bench she and Kousuke were sitting on. Attis raised an eyebrow at that as Kousuke called out to Kaito, "Yo, East Japan champion."

As Kaito turned to Kousuke he said to him, "Lucia-chan made this bento just for me!" Attis couldn't help but tilt his head in confusion as Lucia tried to explain, "Um, that's wrong, this isn't what it looks like…" Kousuke didn't make things any better when he said, "Lucia-chan's bento is the greatest! You want some?"

Kaito looked away and said, "Nah, I'm fine…" As Kaito walked away, Lucia tried to explain to him one more time, but if failed miserably. Attis just shook his head at the whole thing, wondering what the heck just happened.

When Kousuke thanked Lucia for the food and went over to where the competitors were, Attis turned to Lucia and asked, "Uh, wasn't that food supposed to be for Kaito, Lucia-san?"

"Ah, it was, but Sakiya-kun just went in and ate some when I showed it to him!" Lucia told Attis. He thought about it for a second, then asked, "Did you tell Sakiya-san that the food was supposed to be for Kaito?"

"Uh, well, not really…" Lucia said sheepishly. Attis sighed and told her, "Well, that's you're problem right there, you should've told Sakiya-san clearly that the food was supposed to be for Kaito before you showed it to him, or better yet, not showed him at all."

Hanon and Rina nodded with Rina saying, "I have to agree with Attis-san over there, you should've made things clear first." Then Hanon said, "Now there's a misunderstanding between the two of you again…"

Rolling his eyes, Attis turned his attention to the ocean, where the competition was underway. Watching the first competitor take off, everything was going fine, until the guy fell off his surfboard, which the competitor said, "Oh, he fell down!"

However for Attis, when he was watching, he felt a very faint pulse of energy just before the surfer fell, and knew that the fall was no accident. Feigning a headache, he turned around and said, "Ugh, my head hurts a bit. I need to leave for a moment, alright girls?"

The three Princesses nodded with Lucia saying, "Will you be alright?" Attis nodded and said, "Don't worry about it, it's just something minor." With that he walked away from the three and headed towards the street.

Making sure that no one was looking his way, Attis made his way around until he managed to reach a secluded spot on the beach. Quickly putting on the black cloak and mask, Attis jumped into the water and swam towards the area where he felt the energy pulses come from every now and again.

Eventually, Attis reached the place where the energy was coming from, where he found Maria standing there. He heard her say, "You still won't come out, Mermaid Princesses? Then, I'll freeze some more!" That's when she shot an ice beam towards the surface, and Attis watched as it headed for the next surfer, which happened to be Kousuke.

The beam traveled towards the surfboard, which made part of it freeze. The sudden freeze caused the surfboard to become unbalanced and it threw Kousuke off, sending him falling into the water. Maria laughed at that and Attis shouted, "So, we have quite the prankster on hand, do we now?"

Maria quickly snapped around and shouted, "Who's there?! Show yourself!" Attis laughed and he swam up to her and said, "Quite the impatient water demon…"

Seeing Attis swim up to her, Maria demanded, "Who are you?! Wait…" She thought for a moment then said, "You're the person that Eriru mentioned, aren't you?"

"And you're the chick that got her ass burned by a Red Nocturne, right?" Attis shot back at her. Maria fumed at that and shouted, "How do you know about that?! Were you the one that sent those things?"

"Please, I fight those things." Attis told Maria, as Aqualis materialized in Attis' hand. Maria looked at the Keyblade and thought, 'What is that weapon? I've never seen anything like it. Maybe Gaito-sama may know…' Then Maria held out her hand at him and shouted, "Take this!" She shot out an ice beam that Attis managed to evade.

Suddenly Maria looked up, which made Attis look up and he saw Kaito surfing up there. Maria smirked and said, "Those foolish humans never learn! Then I'll just keep freezing more and more!" She held her hand towards the surface as Attis rushed over shouting, "Hold up missy!" He was too late however, as Maria had already fired the beam, but Attis kept going, swinging Aqualis at her. Maria managed to dodge it narrowly and laughed as the beam kept going.

To their surprise, Kaito managed to dodge it, which made Attis say, "Looks like you missed. Your aim going bad or something?" Maria just fumed and turned to Attis saying, "I just have to take my frustration out on you then!"

"Just try it, me and my Keyblade will beat you harder than that Fire spell that lit your butt on fire!" Attis shouted. Maria got angry at that as she shouted, "Stop saying that! Lover's Ice Darts!" Maria threw a bunch of icicles at Attis, who retaliated by pointing Aqualis at Maria shouting, "Blizzard!"

The tip of Aqualis glowed and a few icicles shot out, hitting some of the icicles, while Attis blocked the rest of them. Maria smirked and said, "You're quite tough, but can you block this!" She shot an ice beam at Attis, and he blocked it with Aqualis. He knew that it was a bad idea, when part of his Keyblade started to freeze over, forcing Attis to smash Aqualis on a rock nearby, shattering the ice.

Attis then went on the offensive, and tried to strike Maria with Aqualis. Again, she narrowly dodged it, but Attis went on to jab the Keyblade right at her, which hit her in the stomach. To finish it off, Attis swung Aqualis around, and the hit sent her flying back a bit, making him think, 'Ah, the classic three hit combo. Bet she wasn't expecting that…'

Maria looked furious as she clutched her stomach. There wasn't any wound, but the hits sure did hurt. That's when Lucia's voice shouted out, "So it was you after all!"

Both Attis and Maria turned to see Lucia, Hanon, and Rina swim out from behind a rock, and Maria said, "So, you finally appeared, Mermaid Princesses! I was getting sick of waiting for you!" Attis took that chance to swing Aqualis at Maria again saying, "You shouldn't let your guard down you ice fairy!"

"Who're you calling a fairy?!" Maria shouted as she dodged another blow. Rina asked, "What's Ace doing here?" Lucia shook her head and said, "Never mind that." That's when Maria shouted, "Take this!" and she fired an ice beam at the three Mermaid Princesses, which they managed to dodge.

The three didn't look to happy as they changed into their idol forms, while Attis kept Maria busy by trying to hit her. After Lucia, Hanon, and Rina transformed, they were just in time to see Attis whip around Maria and whack her in the butt with Aqualis, making her fly forward towards the Princesses.

Maria was so mad, that she didn't realize that Attis was just toying with her the entire time. Attis could've beaten Maria by himself if he wanted, but decided to leave it to the Princesses, despite the Heartless that would be attracted to the power of their pearls. That's when Lucia said, "I won't forgive you for messing with the surfing competition that everyone was working so hard for!"

"Shut up! I don't need to hear you preaching!" Maria shouted. Lucia just ignored her as she said, "Here we go!" Then with Hanon and Rina joining in, they shouted, "Pichi Pichi Voice Live Start!"

The three of them started singing Legend of Mermaid as Maria shouted, "Freeze Mermaid Princesses!" She fired an ice beam at them, but Attis intercepted by blocking the beam with Aqualis. This froze the entire Keyblade and part of Attis' arm, making him hiss, "Shoot, that's cold!"

As Legend of Mermaid went on, the song started to affect Maria, and the ice encasing Aqualis started to crack, eventually shattering, which surprised Attis. As the song finished, the three Princesses said, "Love Shower Pitch! How about an encore?"

Seeing Maria in a weakened state, she shouted, "How rude! How can you refuse my love!" Attis smirked at that and said, "I'd rather see your butt get burned again then take what you call love." Lucia, Hanon, and Rina couldn't help but giggle at that as they remembered what happened back at the Mermaid Cave.

"Grr…" Was all Maria said before she vanished. Attis shook his head and turned to the Mermaid Princesses asking, "By the way, do you three always end with that 'Love Shower Pitch' thing?"

"Of course, since singing wouldn't sound right without it!" Lucia said proudly. Attis just thought, 'Right…' Looking around he didn't see any Heartless pop up, which was weird and he said, "You three better get out of here, before the Heartless show up."

They nodded and turned back into their mermaid forms. As they swam away, the Heartless showed up, consisting of a huge group of Screwdivers. Shaking his head, Attis said, "You're too late Heartless, now all of you have to deal with me!"

Taking care of them took longer than expected, and by the time he reached back to shore, the contest was already over, with everyone gone. Attis' head tilted to the side as he said, "Oh man, I don't know who won. What am I going to tell Maki-san?"

Walking along the beachside, he saw that the sun was starting to set, and feeling a bit resigned, Attis just walked looking like he was out of it. He didn't walk far when he saw Lucia and Kaito together. Seeing the good mood around them, Attis didn't want to intrude, but he wanted to know if Kaito won the competition or not.

So, Attis quickly went over to the mat where Lucia and Kaito were sitting and said, "Hi Kaito, Lucia-san."

Lucia was the first to speak asking, "Oh, Attis-san, do you feel better?" Attis nodded and replied, "Yeah, I'm fine now." Kaito looked at him and asked, "Did something happen?"

Nodding, Attis replied, "Just had a headache Kaito. Unfortunately I practically missed all of the competition. I'm going to have to take a crack at it and say that you won the competition right?"

"Of course." Kaito said smugly, "Though it's mostly because all of the competitors somehow messed up during their routines." Attis said to that, "Yeah I heard about that, weird huh?"

Lucia looked like she sweat dropped as Attis noticed all the food and said, "Wow, looks like Lucia-san really out did herself with this," He pointed to all the food as Lucia said, "Yup, it's all for Kaito since he won and all."

Attis chuckled at that and said, "Then, I guess I'll see the two of you later." He waved at them, which they returned, and Attis left the beach, noticing that Hanon and Rina were watching the two nearby with interest. Looking over to the he asked, "Something interesting over there ladies?"

Hanon looked at him and asked, "You tell me Attis-san. You were over there, right?"

"Sorry Hanon-san, but I didn't stick around long enough to catch anything juicy enough. It not like something's big is going to happen anyway." Attis told her. Rina just smirked at that, while Hanon just rolled her eyes and continued watching Lucia and Kaito.

Giving a shrug, Attis left the two to their own devices as he went back to his apartment. With one last glance at the beach, he saw Kaito and Lucia enjoying each other's company, and he couldn't help but feel a bit jealous at the scene.

* * *

_Attis' apartment_

Back at his apartment, Attis was busy making himself dinner, and when he was finished cooking, he sat down on a nearby table and ate. After eating he sat down in front of the T.V. and started watching, but his thoughts were somewhere else, as a voice in his head said, 'Attis…'

'Hmm? Aqua Regina…?' Attis thought, thinking that he was imagining things. Apparently he wasn't when Aqua Regina's voice replied, 'Yes Attis, it's me…'

'Uh, not to be rude or anything, but is there something you wanted?' Attis asked in thought. Aqua Regina answered him with a question, 'Why do you hide your identity from the Mermaid Princesses?'

Attis was a bit surprised by Aqua Regina's question and replied, 'Actually, I'm not quite sure, though I guess it'd have to do with not getting close to them.' Then Aqua Regina argued, 'But you seem to be getting close to them when they're in their human forms.'

Shaking his head Attis started to get a bit irritated and thought, 'I'm sorry but I have my reasons. Once this whole Heartless thing is dealt with, I probably won't see them anymore. I still need to find out how to get back to my own world you know.'

'Yes, I know…' Aqua Regina told him. That's when Aqua Regina's voice faded from his mind and Attis couldn't help but think, 'I wonder what she wanted…? I don't think she would try to contact me just for that…'

Snapping back to reality, Attis turned off the T.V. and went over to his laptop and did a bit more work on the Heartless documents, adding new information to it. If he was able to contact HQ, the Attis would've been able to get the current library of all the enemies the Keypers faced. Instead he had to rely on his own knowledge and the Scan ability as he closed the laptop and went to bed.


	9. Heartless Melody

Chapter 9 – Heartless Melody

_Taro's house_

"Hmm, Mitsuki-san doesn't seem the type to order meals, in my opinion." Attis said to himself. Walking towards Taro's house with a bento in his hands, he was surprised to hear that the restaurant had a take-out option available. Seeing that business was steady, and the other workers were able to handle the load, Maki was the one that sent him on the delivery, since he knew where Taro lived.

Speaking of workers, there were other waiters that worked with Attis, as well as cooks that he all met after his first day of work. He found them to all be quite friendly and he didn't mind their company, and they accepted Attis quite easily to his surprise. Maki was glad at the outcome, and things seemed to be busy for a while, though it started to settle down after a few weeks.

Back to the present time, Attis was in front of Taro's house as he rung the doorbell. Inside, he heard Taro's voice shout, "I'll be right there!"

A moment later the door opened and Taro saw Attis standing there with a bag saying, "Oh, Attis-san! What can I do for you?" Attis held up the bag in front of Taro and said, "I got your order Mitsuki-san."

Taro nodded at that and said, "Do you mind if you come in and drop it off? I'm actually in the middle of something." Attis got curious so he replied, "Sure, why not?" Walking into the house and closing the door behind him, Taro pointed to the table where he could drop off the food as he rushed over to his piano.

After putting the food on the table, Attis looked over to Taro sitting at the piano and asked, "What are you doing?" Taro had an old fashioned pen in his hand when he replied, "I'm making a musical piece for a contest that takes place in a few days, and all I need to do is this." With the pen in his hand he signed the bottom of the paper that was in front of him, which Attis could see had a musical score on it.

Walking over to the piano, Attis asked, "Uh, do you mind if I take a look at it Mitsuki-san?" Taro nodded in reply, "Okay, but please be careful with them."

Smirking a bit at that, Attis carefully took the papers and overlooked them, while Taro played the piano. As Taro played, Attis was looking over the notes, seeing that it was quite interesting. Not being much of a music person, despite playing the electric guitar, Attis found the music to be quite nice. Then he put most of the pages back on the piano, except the last one, which he still held in his hand.

Suddenly the two heard a key being pushed the wrong way, and they looked up to see Yuri standing there, who Attis recognized as the girl who was at the concert hall back then. Yuri looked at Taro and said, "I'd like you to give me this song." Hearing this, Attis quickly hid the last page that he was holding by folding it into his pocket without drawing attention to himself.

Taro looked quite surprised at Yuri's appearance and asked, "Who are you?" Attis walked to Taro's side and demanded, "Not to mention, how the heck you get in here?" Yuri just smirked and said, "Just look into my eyes you two."

Attis tried to look away, but Yuri's powers were already starting to affect them, and Attis felt his consciousness slip away. The two of them fell to the floor in a slump, with the last thing Attis seeing was Yuri take the composition with a smile on her face.

A moment later, Lucia, Hanon, and Rina ran into the house, with Hanon in the lead shouting, "Taro-chan!" Entering the living room, the three of them saw both Attis and Taro on the floor unconscious, with Hanon running to Taro in concern. Soon Rina managed to get Taro conscious and with Lucia, went over to Attis and the two helped him up, with Rina waking him up in the same way she did to Taro.

As Taro worried about the song he composed, Attis came around too asking, "Ugh, what the heck just happened?" Then he saw Lucia, Hanon, and Rina in the room and asked, "Hm? W-when did you three get here?"

"We just got here when we saw you and Mitsuki-sensei on the floor unconscious. What exactly happened?" Rina said. Attis remembered what just happened, but had to fake it by saying, "Ow…the last thing I remember was a girl with long green hair and a red dress appearing out of thin air. Then she did something to us and…ow, I can't remember the rest…but I think she took the score…"

Finding that his head was still hurting a bit, Attis clutched it as Taro started to panic. The three Princesses however, had their suspicions of who it was after what Attis had told them. Shaking his head, Attis tried to get up, with Lucia and Rina supporting him. That's when they heard Taro shout, "I can't even remember one phrase of it!"

As Lucia and Rina went to get a doctor, Hanon was beside Taro trying to call out to him frantically, but she couldn't reach him. That's when Attis called out to him, "M-Mitsuki-s-san…"

For some reason, Taro looked at Attis as he took out the page out of his pocket and said, "Here, t-this is the last page of your composition. I was holding it when it got taken…" Attis' words seemed like a godsend to Taro as he took the page from Attis and opened it to look. To his shock, Taro recognized it as his own writing, but the notes looked totally foreign to him, and the shock caused him to collapse, making Hanon catch him.

Attis got up, but found that he was still suffering from the effects of Yuri's power. It made him stagger as Hanon looked over to him and said, "Attis-san!" Attis shook it off saying, "I'm fine Hanon-san, just need to shake it off, and I need to make a call."

Walking out of the room as he saw Hanon take Taro over to a nearby couch, Attis went over to a nearby phone and called Maki. After explaining what happened, while changing the story a bit, Maki agreed to let Attis off for the rest of the day, saying that things weren't that busy, and hoped that he and Taro would be fine.

Later, after the doctor had come by and Taro was on the couch lying comfortably on the couch, he came too, only to see Hanon beside him putting a towel over her head. Not far off Attis, Lucia, and Rina were standing nearby, with Attis holding onto both Lucia and Rina's shoulders since he was still wobbly.

After listening to Taro's story of how he had dedicated to score to a mermaid he had met back in the past, he turned to Attis and said, "Attis-san, I am extremely grateful that you still had the last page of my composition. With it, at least I still have a part of it with me, though I hope that I can remember the rest by the time of the contest."

"Don't worry so hard about it Mitsuki-san. I'm sure that the last page will jog your memory." Attis assured him. Then he let go of Lucia and Rina's shoulders and headed for the door saying, "I hope you get better Mitsuki-san."

* * *

_Beachside – forest_

Attis was walking through the forest beside the beach, where he fought the Bully Dog and it's minions. Looking around, he found the forest had an odd feel about it, and it wasn't misplaced as several Soldiers and Shadows popped up, with a Neoshadow thrown into the mix.

Quickly getting into his cloak and mask, Attis summoned Aqualis and charged right at the Heartless. They responded in kind and all of them charged forward, with claws pointed at Attis. Attis smirked and bashed a Shadow into black mist saying, "I think I'll be feeling better after this."

Starting off, Attis' fighting ability was a bit shoddy due to Yuri's powers, but they started to affect him less and less as he continued fighting. Eventually he was back to normal as he had defeated the Shadows and Soldiers. This left only the Neoshadow, and Attis was able to defeat it with a combination of spells and his Keyblade.

With the Heartless defeated, Attis looked around the forest and thought, 'This is the second time the Heartless have appeared in this forest. If I come here again and they show up, then something must be attracting them in this forest.' With a sigh, Attis was about to take off the cloak when he felt a pearl reaction coming from the Red Pearl in his pocket.

The Red Pearl seemed to point Attis in a certain direction, and he followed the path. However the Heartless seemed to be stalling him as they started popping up along the path he took. Getting irritated, Attis whipped out the Red Pearl and synchronized it with Aqualis to give it more power, and cast Haste on himself to speed up everything.

Taking out every Heartless along the way, Attis ran towards the place that the Red Pearl seemed to be leading him too. He slashed at a Soldier, turning it into mist and releasing it's heart as he thought, 'I hope the Princesses can handle themselves…'

* * *

_Oceanside – island rock_

By the time Attis reached the place, the three Mermaid Princesses had already beaten Yuri into submission, from what Attis' scan ability told him. Yuri shouted something before she vanished, leaving the three of them by themselves.

As Attis approached them, putting on the mask in the process, he saw Hanon bend down and pick up a ripped piece of paper. He saw that she had tears in her eyes, and when he got closer, he saw that the piece of paper she picked up had the initials 'T.M.' on it and said in a subdued tone, "Are you three alright?"

Lucia and Rina were about to answer when Hanon started to cry saying, "And all I wanted was to be useful to my dear Taro-chan…" Attis felt really bad for her, but that didn't last when darkness started to form around the pieces of paper. Lucia and Rina saw this too and Lucia shouted, "Hanon, watch out!"

Hanon saw the darkness starting to form and she dropped the piece of paper she was holding in shock. Attis quickly acted by running towards Hanon and pulled her back by scooping her up bridal style and jumping back to where Lucia and Hanon were standing. Looking at the pieces being bathed in darkness, the three Princesses looked at the scene with shock on their faces and Hanon asked, "W-what's happening to Taro-chan's score?!"

'So that really was Mitsuki-san's…' Attis thought to himself. Then he replied, "That score must've had some power behind it, for it to turn into a Heartless…"

"What? A Heartless…? Is that even possible?" Rina asked him. Attis nodded and said, "I've seen it happen before a few times, but this one's a first…a musical score turning into one."

The darkness grew and soon, it formed into a giant Heartless that Attis instantly recognized, "Oh no, girls, you need to get out of here right now!" The three Princesses, seeing the towering Heartless, looked surprised as Lucia shouted, "What the heck is that?!"

"It's a Darkside, a very powerful Heartless, and that's why you three need to leave now!" Attis shouted, brandishing Aqualis towards the Darkside. The temperature started to drop a bit, and to everyone's surprise, they saw the sea surrounding the rock they were on freeze into rough ice.

Looking over, Attis saw Hanon shaking for a bit, and when she looked up, he saw anger in her eyes as she said, "I'm going to stay here and fight Ace-san. I won't let this Heartless defile Taro-chan's music anymore!" Seeing the determination in Hanon's eyes, Attis knew that trying to convince her would be much harder than actually fighting Darkside. And seeing the supporting looks in Lucia and Rina's eyes, Attis said, "Fine, but first-!"

Attis didn't have a chance to finish as Darkside had raised a fist up and it was aimed towards the four. Suddenly there was a click in Attis' head and a spell came back to him, which made him sigh as he pointed Aqualis at the Mermaid Princesses. They were shocked by this and were even more so when Attis shouted, "Aero!"

The blast of wind magic lifted the three Mermaid Princesses into the air, and Attis had to do a Dodge Roll in order to avoid being squished by Darkside's punch. The three Mermaid Princesses actually landed on the ice softly as Lucia shouted, "Jeez, what's Ace-san's problem?!"

Seeing where Darkside's fist had just landed, and Attis attacking it with Aqualis, Rina told her, "I think he wanted to push us out of the way. I mean, that Heartless' fist is in the place where we were just standing." Both Lucia and Hanon gulped at that, but Hanon's resolve kicked in again as the Live Stage formed around them and Ever Blue started playing again. With a pointed finger towards Darkside, Hanon shouted, "How dare you taint Taro-chan's song! I'll make you pay for that!"

When Hanon started singing Ever Blue again, Attis looked up at Darkside and saw it shake it's head slightly. At the same time, Hanon's Aqua pearl was resonating with the Red pearl in Aqualis, and felt the Keyblade's power starting to grow again. Attis couldn't help but think, 'Man, I don't think I'll underestimate a girl's feelings ever again…'

Aqualis was more powerful, and the blows that Attis was dealing made Darkside stagger a bit. Apparently the three Princesses joined in and were going all out with their singing. It seemed to be affecting Darkside quite a bit, which puzzled Attis, since he knew that Darksides were the more powerful Pureblood Heartless, and considering the confrontation with Crustatos, it should've been able to resist more than that.

Shaking his head, Attis decided to go on the offensive, attacking Darkside with everything he had, and dodging most of the attacks, though he did get hit a few times when he got careless. That's when Darkside slammed it's fist into the ground, creating a black pool, where Shadows started to pop up. Knowing that they would distract them, Attis had to clear all of them out, even though more kept on coming out of the pool until Darkside withdrew it's fist.

Soon he heard Ever Blue coming to an end, and Attis knew that Hanon had sung a full song. Darkside seemed to be recovering slowly, but all the blows that Attis gave it weakened it considerably. Firing off a Fire spell aimed at Darkside's face, which blinded it, Attis was about to throw Aqualis right at it's face when he heard Lucia and the others running up to him behind. Still in their idol forms, Attis was shocked when Hanon asked him, "Ace-san, please let me finish off that Heartless."

This threw everyone in a loop, but Attis saw the determination in Hanon's eyes. Keeping an eye on Darkside, which was still trying to recover from that blinding Fire spell, he handed Aqualis to Hanon saying, "I hope you know what you're doing Aqua Princess…"

"Thank you very much Ace-san!" Hanon said, taking Aqualis from Attis. He was skeptical for a second, since non-Keyblade wielders couldn't hold the Keyblade for very long, but to his surprise, it looked like Aqualis wasn't going to vanish anytime soon.

Meanwhile, Hanon had an idea after seeing Attis synchronize the Red Pearl to Aqualis. She had her e-Pitch in her other hand, which held her Aqua Pearl, and held it to the Keyblade and shouted, "Aqua Pearl Synchro!"

There was a flash of light and when it died, everyone saw the Aqua Pearl in one of the holes. If Attis didn't have his mask on, they would've seen him with his jaw open. Instead he just stood there stunned as Hanon asked, "Lucia, Rina, will you please help me?"

Lucia and Rina were still a bit surprised by what happened, but they quickly snapped out of it as the two looked at each other and nodded. Holding their e-Pitches to Aqualis, Lucia shouted, "Pink Pearl Synchro!" while Rina shouted, "Green Pearl Synchro!"

There was another flash, and when it faded, everyone saw that their pearls were in Aqualis too. Looking at the Keyblade, Attis saw the pearls in order starting from the bottom: red, pink, aqua, and green. He also felt the power the Keyblade was giving off, and Hanon looked quite confident as Aqualis glowed.

Darkside recovered from the Fire spell and saw Aqualis glowing in Hanon's hand. Attis acted quickly saying, "Aqua Princess, I'm going to send you upwards towards Darkside's face. Use that chance to finish the Heartless." Hanon nodded as Darkside lifted it's fist again, and Attis held his hand out to Hanon and shouted, "Aero!"

Another blast of wind propelled Hanon into the air and she gave an, "Eeep!" while Attis, Lucia, and Rina had to jump out of the way when Darkside slammed it's fist into the ground. In the air Hanon was right above Darkside's face and she stared right into it's yellow eyes shouting, "This is for Taro-chan!"

Hanon held Aqualis with two hands, and she brought the Keyblade down right on Darkside's face, releasing a blast of light as she swung down. Attis ran forward and caught Hanon before she hit the ground, just as there was a chain reaction coming from Darkside. Attis ran back towards Lucia and Rina, just as the Darkside started to vanish into a black mist, looking like it fell apart.

Putting Hanon down on the ice, Attis said, "Wow, that's the first time I've ever seen something like that. You were great out there Aqua Princess."

"Thank you Ace-san." Hanon said, just as Aqualis vanished from her hand, leaving the four pearls in her palm. Everyone took their pearl back, and Attis put the Red Pearl back in its shell, giving a sigh and said, "I don't know what exactly happened, but I'm sure you three can figure something out. You are Mermaid Princesses after all."

With that Attis walked away from the three, a bit surprised by what Attis had told them. Hanon seemed to think about it the most, when an idea came to her and she turned to Lucia and Rina to discuss it. Attis took one last look at them before he walked away towards the shore.

* * *

_Attis' apartment_

Lying back on his bed, Attis found the day to be extremely exhausting. It's been a while since he last felt like this; the only time he remembered was during his first missions assigned to him by his superiors back at Keypers HQ. Stretching, he thought, 'A lot of Heartless showed up today, though I wonder if it has anything to do with that forest…'

Suddenly his phone rang, and Attis got up and walked over to it and picked it up. He said, "Attis Hale here." On the other end, he heard Taro's voice say excitedly, "Attis-san, I remembered it!"

"Whoa, Mitsuki-san?" Attis said, thrown off guard by Taro's voice. That's when Attis remembered that he had left his number by Taro's phone, just in case he needed anything. He said, "Did something happen Mitsuki-san? You sound like you just made a discovery of a lifetime, you know?"

On the other end, Taro seemed to calm down and say, "Oh, sorry about that. It's just that I remembered the composition just a moment ago." Attis raised an eyebrow as he said, "Really, that's great news."

"I know you won't believe it, but the reason I can remember is because a mermaid showed up and started singing this beautiful song. It made me remember everything!" Taro said excitedly. Attis figured he was expecting a response that said he didn't believe him, because what Attis said surprised him, "I guess the mermaid felt your pain and wanted to cheer you up Mitsuki-san. Mermaids are quite interesting, wouldn't you say?"

"Uh…yeah…" Taro said, still a bit surprised by that. Attis yawned and said, "I'm glad that you remember Mitsuki-san, but I need to go now. Need to turn in early since I have to get up early for work and all."

"Oh…right, goodnight Attis-san." Taro said on the other end. Attis replied, "Night Mitsuki-san." Attis hung up and went over to his bed, but not before updating the Heartless database on his laptop. He went to bed and fell asleep pretty quickly, with another memory coming up to him in a dream.

* * *

_Dreamstate – 10 years ago_

After Attis had gone through the portal, he wound up in the Mermaid Melody world, on a deserted island in the middle of the ocean. Looking around he said, "Great, just great. They drop me off in the middle of nowhere just like that. I'm going to have a word with those idiots when I get back."

Walking around the island for a bit, he started to hear sounds of fighting nearby, and decided to check it out. Reaching the place where the fighting was taking place, Attis couldn't believe his eyes at what he was seeing. There were mermaids with weapons fighting what looked like water demons, which weren't exactly pleasant on the eyes.

At the back of the group of mermaids was a woman with long blond hair in a white dress, holding a staff that looked like had two small wings at the tip. Using his Scan ability, Attis managed to identify the person as Aqua Regina. Attis had heard about her from the report, and how she had repelled the Heartless from the world ten years ago with the help of someone, but Attis didn't pay attention to the details.

Attis saw that the mermaids were losing and Attis couldn't bear to watch anymore. Taking out Solaris and Lunaria, he knew that the Keyblades wouldn't be able to leave any wounds, but they would still hurt like hell if hit. Going around to the back of the water demon ranks, he materialized his cloak and put it on, making sure his face was hidden in shadow. Then he attacked the demons from behind, causing an uproar and throwing the water demons off guard.

Soon, Attis had defeated over half of the water demons using a combination of his Keyblades and magic, which continued to throw the water demons off guard, and the mermaids were slowly gaining the upper hand in the fight. To cut losses, the water demons retreated, though a few stayed behind to deal with Attis.

Aqua Regina approached the front line, just in time to see Attis wipe the floor with the water demons that tried to attack him. Attis looked at her under his hood and a few mermaids jumped forward with their tridents raised at him, but Aqua Regina held her hand out and they lowered their tridents. Attis walked towards her as Solaris and Lunaria vanished from his hands. He looked at her from under his hood as Aqua Regina asked, "Who are you…?"

Her voice was soft and Attis could see that she didn't want to fight. So Attis removed his hood, and some of the mermaids were surprised to see a human standing before him, much less a man. Then Attis bowed his head and said, "It's a pleasure to meet you Aqua Regina. I'm Attis Hale, and I have something urgent I must tell you about."

* * *

In the middle of the night, Attis woke up. Shaking his head he thought, 'That dream was something I already knew… Shoot I can't fall back asleep.'

Attis got up and went to get a drink of water. After he finished he thought he heard something from within the other room. Quietly going over to the door, Attis took out Aqualis just in case, and prepared to open the door.

When he threw it open, Attis looked around, but saw nothing inside. He closed the door thinking, 'Man, I think I'm starting to hear things…' Making Aqualis vanish, Attis went back to bed with a huff. For some reason though, he thought he heard giggling just before he fell asleep.


	10. Forested Makeover

Chapter 10 – Forested Makeover

_City Street_

A number of days passed since the incident with Taro's score, and things stared to settle down. Attis was invited to the contest where Taro played, along with Kaito, Lucia, Hanon, and Rina a few days back, and enjoyed the show that was put on.

Now Attis was walking through the city, doing another errand for Maki-san, this time holding a few drink bottles. A bit earlier, he took care of a few Dire Plants that had appeared in a dark alleyway, after hearing rumors of a 'giant man eating weed' appearing in an alleyway.

Along the way, he noticed Lucia standing near a tree looking at something. He walked over to her asking, "Lucia-san? What are you looking at?"

Lucia was slightly startled but relaxed when Attis came up to her. She said, "Attis-san, take a look!" Wondering what Lucia was pointed to, Attis looked over, and to his surprise, he saw Rina in a pretty dress, sitting in a restaurant with someone he didn't recognize. Attis asked, "What's up with that?"

"Rina got scouted as a model! She's currently having lunch with Ishibashi-san!" Lucia told him. Then she sighed and went back to watching them saying, "Those two really have an air of sophistication…" Attis looked at Rina and thought, 'I guess it's not surprising, since she is quite beautiful…'

They continued watching and the two listened in on the conversation somehow. Soon Attis remembered his errand and said, "Sorry, but I have to get back to work. I'll see you later Lucia-san."

Lucia nodded and Attis continued walking, though at the same time, Rina looked out the window and saw Attis looking at her. She was surprised to see him there as Attis gave a smile and a wave before he continued walking. As he headed back to Maki's restaurant Attis thought, 'Wonder how that will turn out…'

* * *

_Apartments_

Later, back at the apartments, Attis found a soundproof room in the basement part of the building. Attis found it by accident a few days ago when he went looking around, checking if there were Heartless around. After getting permission from the owner to use it, he brought the electric guitar around and tried using it after sticking the red pearl into it. To his surprise, he found that he was able to play it without the attachments, which made Attis think that it wasn't an accident that this guitar was sent to him.

Heading back up, he saw Rina at her door, and decided to tease her a bit saying, "Well, if it isn't the new model!" Looking around Rina saw Attis and said with a huff, "Sorry, but I'm no model!"

"Whoa, I was just kidding around with you Rina-san." Attis said, holding up his hands in defense. Rina sighed and said, "I'm guessing you heard about it from Lucia earlier."

Attis smirked and said, "Yeah, and I gotta say, you looked absolutely stunning in that dress earlier." Rina blushed at that a bit before she regained her composure and told him, "Well, I'm not a model anymore."

"…I see." Attis said, "Well, that's your choice, so I won't say anything about it." Rina was slightly surprised at that as Attis opened the door to his apartment and said, "Night, Rina-san."

* * *

_Beachside – forest_

The next day, Attis made his way over to the forest, since he had two days off from work starting today. Taking that chance to explore the forest, Attis was surprised when he encountered Heartless the first step he took into it. Changing into his cloak and mask in a flash, Attis materialized Aqualis and said, "Looks like the Heartless are definitely attracted to this place. Just need to find out what exactly what's in this forest they're attracted to."

Attis charged right into the forest, striking the first Heartless he saw, which was a Soldier. He continued attacking, but the Heartless continued to keep coming, making him think, 'Man, they're really trying to stop me. This is even worse when the Heartless are attracted to the Mermaid Princesses…'

Attis spent most of the day searching the woods, while beating up Heartless that popped up, but found nothing. All he could find was trees and Heartless, and the constant fighting was getting on his nerves, though he found quite a few items that he hadn't seen in quite a while, like Potions and such.

With another Shadow biting the dust, Attis was now a bit tired and more irritated. He swung his Keyblade once and said, "What is with this place?! All I can find are Heartless, yet there's nothing here…" Suddenly, a Soldier popped up nearby and Attis was ready to fight again, but for some reason the Heartless took off in a certain direction. Wondering what was with the weird behavior, Attis decided to follow it.

After walking through some bushes, Attis found himself in a clearing, where an extremely odd sight was before him. There were tons of Pureblood and Emblem Heartless in the clearing, with what looked like a capsule erected in the center. As he saw various Shadows crawl all over it, Attis saw that something was inside it, and to his shock, he saw a girl with long blond hair in a white dress encased inside the capsule.

Squinting to see if his eyes were working, Attis thought, 'That's a girl…right? Hmm, she looks like a kid version of Aqua Regina for some reason…' Attis took a step forward, which happened to land on a twig, giving it a loud snap. Instantly, all of the Heartless turned to see Attis standing at the edge. Wincing, Attis took out Aqualis and synchronized the Red Pearl to it saying, "Might as well fight my way out…"

An hour later, Attis had defeated the Heartless that had surrounded the capsule, looking quite beat, with his cloak having quite a few tatters and rips in it. Knowing that the cloak would be repaired when he dematerialized it, Attis drunk a number of Potions to heal whatever injuries he had gotten and started to feel better.

After that, Attis slowly walked up to the capsule to take a closer look. Seeing that the girl inside definitely looked like a ten year old version of Aqua Regina, Attis thought, 'Why would something like this be here in the middle of a forest?'

Attis put a hand on it, and all of a sudden, the Red Pearl in Aqualis started to shine and there was a flash of light, blinding him. When it died, Attis was surprised to see that the entire capsule had vanished. Then the next thing that happened was the support the capsule was on fell apart and turned into dust. Finding what just happened a bit too weird for his taste, Attis made his way out of the clearing and back to the beach, making sure to get changed along the way.

* * *

_Beachside_

It was around sunset and Attis was walking along the beach, zoning out due to his tiredness. Attis didn't even realize he was even walking until he saw Rina sitting alone at the beach. Curious as to what she was doing there, Attis walked up to her and cautiously said, "Rina-san?"

Rina looked up and said, "Attis-san? What are you doing here? You look tired." Attis replied, "I was searching for something in that forest over there," He pointed to the forest that he had come from, which was quite a distance away, "And it took the better part of the day, and I guess I zoned out while I was walking."

"Is that so…" Rina said, sounding a bit out of it herself. Attis asked, "Something the matter Rina-san?"

"Not really, just thinking about the past…" Rina blurted out, before she just realized what she just said. Attis nodded and said, "Having regrets?"

A surprised look appeared on Rina's face as she looked up at him. Attis smirked and said, "Figured as much. It obviously must be something unpleasant, since you don't have a smile on your face."

"…How do you know?" Rina asked, sounding a bit suspicious. Attis looked out at the ocean and replied, "I used to do that a bit, from what I remember. I got over it though, after figuring that it was pointless, since it wouldn't change anything in the end. Not to mention that we can only move forward, no matter how much we look at the past."

Rina raised an eyebrow at that as Attis felt a bit weak and said, "I'll see you later Rina-san. I feel exhausted right now." Rina waved at Attis as he walked away towards the street. Looking out to the ocean, Rina said, "We can only move forward, huh?"

* * *

_Attis' apartment_

By the time Attis got back, it was already night, since he went out for dinner first. Opening the door, he got in and for some strange reason, he felt something was off. Closing the door behind him, Attis looked around his apartment for a bit, wondering to himself.

After looking around for a bit, he sighed and thought, 'Man, I really must be getting paranoid these days…' That's when he heard a thump sound coming from the spare room. This put Attis on high alert as Aqualis instantly appeared in his hand. Quietly walking over to the door, he held his Keyblade up, preparing to strike.

At the door, Attis cautiously leaned against the wall for a second, then opened the door and looked inside. What he found shocked him, and it practically made Aqualis fall out of his hands. Inside he saw the capsule from the forest inside the room, sitting in a corner upright. Attis' jaw dropped as he thought, 'How the heck did this get here?!'

Recalling what had happened, Attis took out the shell necklace from his pocket as Aqualis vanished from the floor. Looking back at the capsule, Attis noticed a note was attached to the glass, so he went over and took it off. It said, 'Please take care of this capsule Keyblade warrior. She is very precious. Aqua Regina,'

"I guess things make sense, and considering that the girl looks like Aqua Regina, they have to be related." Attis said to himself, "But from what happened earlier, the Heartless are attracted to her, so how can she stay hidden? I really don't want Heartless infesting my apartment."

As if to answer Attis' question, a magic circle appeared on the capsule, and another note appeared in front of Attis, which he grabbed. Reading it, it said, 'That circle will hide her existence from the Heartless.'

Sighing, Attis said, "Well, at least I don't get visitors. But I better find some kind of cloth to cover it if something happens though…" Attis left the room, and starting to feel the exhaustion starting to creep up on him again, he decided to put it off until tomorrow, and went to sleep.

* * *

_Apartments_

The next day, Attis went out to buy a cloth that would be able to cover the capsule if the need came to be. After finding one, he started walking towards the beach again, taking a walk to clear his head.

After that Attis made his way back to his apartment to drop off the cloth. When he got back out and locked the door behind him, he heard another door opening and saw Rina come out of her apartment, wearing the dress Attis had saw her wearing a few days ago back at the restaurant. He also saw her carrying a small bag as he called out to her saying, "Stunning dress you have there Rina-san. What's the occasion?"

Rina seemed slightly surprised at Attis' voice and turned around as she closed the door to her apartment. She walked up to him saying, "I'm going to the model competition to help Ishibashi-san." Attis thought about it as he said, "Ishibashi…? Oh, the guy you were with in the restaurant a few days ago, right?"

A nod came from Rina and Attis asked, "Hey, do you mind if I come with you? I mean, I a bit curious as to where all of this is going." Rina raised an eyebrow at that, but she just shrugged and said, "Suit yourself Attis-san."

Attis just smirked and followed Rina down into the streets. Since she knew where the competition would be taking place, Rina was the one leading, though Attis was beside her, keeping up with her pace. This drew quite the attention from the people nearby as they kept walking, though Attis just ignored them for the most part.

Out of the blue, Rina asked, "Uh, Attis-san, may I ask you something?" Attis replied casually, "Sure, go ahead."

That's when Rina asked, "Do you think about the past a lot?" This made Attis twitch a bit but he beat down the feelings that were surfacing and replied, "I used to a couple of years back, but after time past, I found that just moping around wasted time. Looking back once in a while is fine, but too much of it would bring anyone to a halt, or even some become trapped, unable to let go even if they wanted to."

Rina closed her eyes for a second before she smiled and said, "Right…" With that, the two of them continued walking until they reached the building where the competition was taking place.

* * *

_Building – competition hall_

Inside the hall, Attis watched as Rina went up to Ishibashi and the guy seemed really relieved that Rina showed up. Then he saw Lucia and Hanon watching the two from around the corner and couldn't help but laugh a bit as he held onto Rina's bag, which she had asked him to hold on to, since it had a change of clothes inside.

Walking past Rina and Ishibashi, Attis said, "Knock them dead you two." Then he approached the area where Lucia and Hanon were and they tried to hide, but they failed miserably, though Attis pretended that he didn't see them. When Attis walked off Ishibashi asked, "Was that your boyfriend Rina-chan?"

Rina shook her head saying, "No, he's just a friend and my next door neighbor." Ishibashi said, "I see…" He looked relieved at that, that he didn't notice the twinge of pink on Rina's cheeks.

As time passed, Attis had bumped into Lucia and Hanon, who were back in the main hall. After exchanging a couple of words, Attis walked on. As he went through the hall he noticed that Eriru was there and thought, 'This can't be good, especially with that stereo in her hand…'

Making his way out of the hall, Attis made his way to the back stage when all of a sudden, there was this weird melody flowing through the hall. It didn't affect him, though he found the music to be quite irritating, and that's when the Red Pearl in his pocket started flashing. Knowing that it was probably a ploy to draw out the Mermaid Princesses, Attis went into a spare room and got changed, leaving Rina's bag in the room as he left. Then he headed for a flight of stairs that led to the top of the main hall, where the lights were located.

When he got there, the lights suddenly went out, and when they turned on again, Attis saw that the three Mermaid Princesses were in their idol forms. They said something to Eriru that he couldn't hear properly, as she turned up the volume on her stereo, making the music louder. This just ticked Attis off as he subconsciously materialized Aqualis.

Taking aim, Attis threw Aqualis right at the stereo, making the Keyblade spin around as it was thrown. Aqualis landed right on the stereo, smashing it in half, which surprised the heck out of everyone. Eriru looked around until she looked up, as well as the Mermaid Princesses, and they saw Attis sitting on one of the bars with his arms crossed. She shouted, "You again! How dare you destroy my stereo!"

With Eriru distracted, the three Mermaid Princesses took that chance to start singing Star Jewel, with Rina leading. This immediately had an effect on Eriru and she started to squirm in pain. Attis just stood there, and as the song kept going, he didn't realize that he was wiggling his foot to the song.

Eventually, the song ended and Eriru disappeared in a flash, along with Aqualis which reappeared in Attis' hands. Everyone in the audience applauded at their performance, while the three Princesses were looking out for any signs of the Heartless. A moment later they waved at the audience before the lights went out. When they came back on everything was back to normal, though Attis was still sitting on the bar overhead looking out for the Heartless.

The show went on and eventually the winner was announced to be Ishibashi, with Rina beside him. Attis clapped at that too as he thought, 'Well, that's just weird, the Heartless didn't show up this time either…'

Thankfully, the black cloak didn't make Attis stand out as he got up and carefully walked towards the stairway. Then he quickly made his way to the spare room and got back into his regular clothes, and grabbed Rina's bag as he got out.

In the hallway Attis ran into Rina and Ishibashi and said, "Congrats on winning you two. Oh, and here's your bag Rina-san."

"Thanks." Rina replied as she grabbed the bag from Attis, while Ishibashi said, "Thank you very much, um…" Attis told him, "Name's Attis Hale, but everyone calls me Attis."

The two shook hands as Ishibashi said, "Nice to meet you Attis-san." That's when Rina said, "I'm going to go and get changed, alright?" The two men nodded and they sat down on a nearby bench to wait.

Around the corner, Lucia and Hanon were looking at them again and when they saw Rina go off to get changed, Hanon said, "Oh my, I wonder if there's a love triangle going on here?" Lucia looked at Hanon and asked, "Love triangle? You mean with Rina right?"

"Of course," Hanon replied, "I'm not to sure, but I think Attis-san is in love with Rina." Lucia looked puzzled at that and said, "I don't think that's it. I mean, Attis-san doesn't even show any interest in her when he's around."

"He's just probably very good at hiding it," Hanon told her, wagging a finger, "Don't forget, those two are neighbors so they probably see each other quite often." Lucia sighed and said, "I still think you're wrong about that."

"Humph, well, we'll see about that." Hanon said, as she and Lucia saw Rina walk out in her school uniform. Back to where Attis and Ishibashi were, Attis got up and said, "I guess I'll see you later Rina-san. It was nice meeting you too Ishibashi-san." With Attis walking away, it deflated Hanon's fantasy a bit but said, "I guess Attis-san is jealous somehow, I think." Lucia just shook her head at that as they watched the two that were left leave the hall.

* * *

_Beachside_

A while later, Attis at the beach sitting on the railing wall that separated the elevated sidewalk from the beach. He thought about what happened at the competition and was thinking, 'I wonder why the Heartless didn't show up… Maybe it was because I fought a horde of them back at that forest.'

That's when Attis heard footsteps approaching, and saw Rina and Ishibashi walking together. On the lifeguard stand nearby he saw Lucia and Hanon climb up and started watching the two. Wondering what it was about, Attis listened in on the conversation, in which he heard Ishibashi say, "Rina-chan…I don't know what kind of past you have, but…because I can't make you forget about it…"

Attis wondered what Ishibashi was talking about when he said out of the blue, "Please go out with me!" This caught Attis by surprise, but smirked afterwards when he heard Rina say, "I can't do that."

Ishibashi looked surprised at that and Attis looked up to see Rina with a serious look on her face as she stated, "From the very start, I had no interest in love, or dressing up. Sorry." With that Rina walked away from Ishibashi as he said, "No way…"

Attis almost laughed at that as he turned back towards the ocean. Rina walked over to his location and as she passed, Attis couldn't help but say, "Quite the man-killer, aren't you Rina-san?"

Rina stopped and asked, "…What are you doing out here Attis-san?" Attis continued to look out at the sea and said, "Just clearing some thoughts. So where are you going now?" Thinking about it, Rina said, "You know, I think I need to clear my thoughts too. So you mind if I sit with you?"

"Go right ahead." Attis said, still looking at the ocean. As Rina sat down near him, Attis looked over to where Ishibashi was, but saw that he was already gone. Then he went back to staring at the ocean as the sun set.

Back to where Lucia and Hanon were, now they were seeing Attis and Rina sitting beside each other and Hanon squealed, "Oh, I don't believe it! Rina chose Attis-san over Ishibashi-san!"

"Hanon, I don't think that's it." Lucia told her, "Rina said that she wasn't looking for love. She just told Ishibashi-san that." Hanon waved her off saying, "That's what she's saying on the outside, but inside, she's in love."

Attis and Rina were sitting silently when Attis said, "Rina-san, do you see Lucia-san and Hanon-san over there?" He nodded to the lifeguard post where Lucia and Hanon were standing. Rina replied, "Yes I do."

"I think they're having a misunderstanding about something. You don't mind if you help them clarify things, would you?" Attis asked her in an unusually sweet voice. Rina seemed to know where Attis was going with it and said with a smile, "Sure, why not?" That's when Rina called out, "Oi Lucia, Hanon, could you two come over here for a bit?"

As Attis saw the two get down from the post and walk towards them Attis smiled and thought, 'I wonder how this will turn out?'

* * *

_Attis' Apartment_

At night, Attis had just got back to his apartment after treating the three Mermaid Princesses, Nikora, and Taki to dinner. They all got to know each other better, though Attis had kept most things about himself vague. Anyway, inside his apartment, he saw the bag that had the cloth inside sitting near a couch. He grabbed it and made his way to the spare room.

Opening the door, he saw that the capsule was still there, and there wasn't a single Heartless in the room, which made Attis sigh a breath of relief. Putting the bag that had the cloth inside beside the capsule, Attis looked at the girl inside saying, "I wonder who you are…"

Knowing that it was pointless to talk about it, Attis left the room to get ready to go to bed. When he was lying down, Attis turned out the lights and rolled over to sleep, though he swore that he heard a faint giggling just before he fell asleep.


	11. Treasure Island

Chapter 11 – Treasure Island

_Maki's restaurant_

It was the end of Attis' shift and he was getting ready to head home, when Maki approached him and said, "Sorry about this Attis, but could you do me a favor?"

Attis looked up and said, "What is it Maki-san?" Maki looked at him and said, "I need you to go to this island tomorrow." He handed Attis a brochure which showed an island that had a legend about a wishing ring. Attis joked, "Are you asking me to look for this legendary wishing ring Maki-san?"

Maki laughed at that and said, "No, no, I was there yesterday after I closed the restaurant early." Attis remembered that, since Maki closed the restaurant at the same time Attis got off work. Maki went on, "I forgot a cooler back at the shacks on the island. What I'm asking is, could you please bring it back to me please? I'll be giving you the day off tomorrow so you can go."

Thinking about it for a moment, Attis replied, "Sure, it's no problem for me." Maki looked relieved at that and said, "Thank you very much. I'll have a boat waiting for you at the marina tomorrow, here's the address." Maki handed Attis a piece of paper with Attis replying, "Don't worry about it Maki-san, I'll get it back for you."

* * *

_Island_

The next day, Attis was on the island Maki was talking about and was right where the wooden cabins were. From what Maki told him, he had left the cooler in one of the cabins, and luckily he was able to get permission from the owner before the people who had reserved the cabins arrived.

Managing to find it quickly, Attis was about to head back when he saw a group of people walking up to the cabins, most of which looked like middle school students. Looking closely, he identified a few people that were in front, namely Taro and Kaito. However, Attis needed to get back to the boat quickly since he felt that the cooler in his arms was starting to get heavy, and figured that there was something inside it.

After putting the cooler on the boat, Attis looked at the island while taking out the brochure and thought, 'I wonder about this legend of the wishing ring… Since I have the day off, I might as well check it out.' With that Attis decided to change into his cloak for some reason, since he didn't want to be recognized by most people.

However, as Attis walked past the beach, the forest didn't completely hide him when Lucia turned around after hearing a twig snap. Looking around, Lucia saw Attis' back for just a moment before he vanished behind a tree. Hanon saw Lucia looking into the forest and asked, "Lucia, what's wrong?"

"Uh, I think I just saw Ace-san over there." Lucia replied, pointing into the forest. Hanon and Rina turned around to look but they saw nothing, making Rina say, "You're probably just imagined it Lucia. I mean, what would that person be doing here?"

"Maybe there's Heartless on the island. Nikora-san did say that they do pop up randomly here and there." Hanon replied, "You really don't trust Ace-san, don't you Rina?"

"Of course not. I mean that person hides his identity from us, and he claims that he's here to protect us from the Heartless. Who knows what that person's true intentions are." Rina told them.

"But he has the Red Pearl he received from Aqua Regina-sama, and the Keyblade Aqualis that is able to fuse with our pearls." Lucia said, "All he's ever done is protect us from the Heartless, and he has helped us a few times too!"

There was a moment of silence before Rina sighed and said, "…Let's just get off it for now. Maybe things will reveal themselves in time." Lucia and Hanon nodded and they went back to watching their classmates play in the ocean, though they did wonder why Rina didn't trust 'Ace', even thought he had helped them quite a few times.

Meanwhile, following the directions on the brochure, Attis found himself in front of a cave that was near a purple rock. Why the rock was purplish, he would never figure out as he looked into the cave and thought, 'I can feel something faint in there, but what is it?' Being drawn by the faint feeling, Attis walked into the cave, ready to explore.

* * *

_Cavern_

After a while, Attis was still walking through the caverns and thought, 'Damn, I think I'm lost. I swear I saw that rock formation three times already.' Giving a sigh, Attis sat down on a nearby boulder to take a break. As he sat there he thought, 'Never thought I'd get lost in a cave, though I'd admit that this isn't the first time this happened…'

Suddenly the cave started to shake and Attis heard a few explosions in the distance. He had to jump out of the way as a boulder landed on the one he was just sitting on, cracking the two rocks in half. Looking around he thought, 'That wasn't normal, for sure. Hmm, is it the water demons, or the Heartless?'

Attis made his way to the source of the noise, but got sidetracked when he saw a light shine through a crack. Getting curious, he approached the crack and peered though it. He saw that there was something on the other side, so he stepped back and summoned Aqualis. Then he raised it and muttered, "Hope this works!"

Swinging the Keyblade down, the force made the crack crumble, turning it into a hole that Attis was able to walk though. As he got through, Attis saw that he was in a cavern bathed in a golden light, and there was what seemed to be an oddly shaped stone tablet in the middle of the room, that had what looked like ancient writing.

As Attis approached the tablet, he didn't notice that Hippo was hiding behind it, watching him walk towards the tablet. Hippo thought to himself, 'Who is that?' Meanwhile Attis was looking at the ancient writing as he whispered, "I wonder, is this the place where that wishing ring is supposed to be?"

Suddenly there was an explosion and Attis instinctively hid himself behind the tablet as Yuri and Eriru appeared from an entrance they created. Looking down he saw Hippo shaking a bit, which made Attis wonder how the penguin got into this part of the cavern. Attis looked down at Hippo and pressed a finger to his lips as they heard Yuri say, "It seems like we've found the place!"

Then Eriru saw the tablet up ahead and said, "Something's up there…" Yuri saw it too and said, "You're right." Attis and Hippo wondered what they were talking about when Eriru said, "There's some complex characters written up there." Then they heard Yuri say, "Let's see…oh, I get it now!"

Attis and Hippo were quite surprised at that as Eriru asked, "You can read all that?" Then they heard Yuri reply, "It says to sing a song in front of the altar." For a second, Attis felt his jaw drop and thought, 'Are mermaids in this world that obsessed with singing?'

Then Yuri and Eriru started arguing over something, which made Attis say, "Now that sounds quite interesting!" The two abruptly stopped talking and Eriru shouted, "Who's there?!"

Attis stepped out from behind the tablet and said, "So the requirement for getting the wishing ring is just to sing? That sounds interesting enough." Yuri shouted, "Who are you?!" but Eriru looked at Attis for a second before she shouted, "Ah, you're the person that's allied with the Mermaid Princesses and wields a giant key thingy!"

A smirk came from Attis as she said, "Giant key thingy? You mean this Keyblade?" Attis held out his hand and Aqualis appeared in a flash of light in his hand. The two water demons were on their guard as Yuri said, "Interesting…so that's the Keyblade Gaito-sama was talking about. We can beat him if we work together."

'Gaito-sama? Is that person the leader?' Attis thought to himself. Then he noticed something behind them and smirked saying, "Oh, I'm not the one that's going to be fighting you ladies." Yuri and Eriru were confused as Attis pointed behind them and said, "They're going to be the once 'fighting' you."

The two water demons turned around to see the three Mermaid Princesses standing behind them at the opening. As they turned around to face them, Attis noticed that Yuri had some kind of jar in her hands which made him think, 'What the heck is that…?'

The Mermaid Princess were about to sing, and Attis had the sudden feeling that he should back away. At the same time he saw Yuri hold up the jar and said, "This is perfect, we can capture the mermaids' voices in the spirit jar!"

Legend of Mermaid was being sung, and as Attis watched, he saw the spirit jar that Yuri held started to swell in size, until it grew ridiculously big and it burst from overloading. Attis couldn't help but laugh at that as Legend of Mermaid came to a close with their signature, "Love Shower Pitch!"

Yuri and Eriru grumbled in defeat as they vanished from the cavern, while Attis shook his head. Suddenly the writing on the tablet flashed for a second before it faded, but no one seemed to notice, as Lucia said, "I knew that I wasn't seeing things! What are you doing here Ace-san?"

"Well, I came to check out the legend of the wishing ring, if you must know." Attis replied. Rina couldn't help but frown a bit as she thought, 'That voice, why does it sound familiar…?'

Suddenly there was a shout and everyone turned to the source, only to see Hippo standing in front of a pile of cake. Attis went over and took a slice, biting into it saying, "Wow, never knew it was this good." Hippo took that as a sign and started eating like a starved man, while Attis went up to the Mermaid Princesses, finishing the cake that was in his hand and said, "Mmh, by the way, do you know that penguin?"

The three Mermaid Princess looked at each other for a second as they saw Hippo eating the mountain of cake. Then Lucia said, "Uh, yeah, he's my pet Hippo…" Attis laughed a bit at that, even though he knew it already. While he was laughing however, something caught his eye on one of the cavern's walls.

Curious, Attis made his way over to the wall, which made the Mermaid Princesses curious as to what Attis was doing. Meanwhile, Attis inspected the wall, finding it a bit weird, and thought, 'This doesn't look normal…' So he raised Aqualis and smashed against the wall, revealing an opening that had a stairway carved into it going down. This surprised everyone but Hippo, who was way too busy eating cake as Attis stared down the dark passageway.

The Mermaid Princesses were about to approach him when Attis turned around and said, "I don't know what's down here, but I suggest that the three of you head back. And I think you need to bring your pet along after he's done eating or something." Lucia seemed concerned about something and asked, "Will you be alright by yourself Ace-san?"

"Don't worry about a thing Pink Princess. Anyway, I'm sure the three of you have other things to attend to, am I right?" Attis asked them. Lucia put a hand to her mouth and said, "Kaito!" Then she bolted off before Hanon or Rina could say anything, then they turned around, only to find that Attis had disappeared to. Then Hanon said, "Those two sure know how to disappear quickly huh?"

"Ha, never mind them, let's just take Hippo and get back to where everyone else is." Rina said. She and Hanon turned to Hippo, only to see that the mountain of cake was gone, and Hippo was on the floor sleeping with a full belly. They shook their heads as Hanon and Rina transformed back and picked up the penguin before they left.

Meanwhile, Attis was busy walking down the stairway, which spiraled downwards and was starting to get darker. This forced him to light a Fire spell at the tip of his Keyblade so he could see in front of him. Soon, Attis reached the bottom of the stairs, only to find something that amazed him.

Attis wound up in a very large cavern, and up ahead he saw what looked like a temple at the other end of the cavern. He couldn't see it clearly but started walking towards it thinking, 'What's a temple doing down here in a place like this?'

As Attis walked forward, torches suddenly lit up in an area he walked into, which consisted of a pillar that had writing that looked similar to the one that was on the tablet in the other cavern. Up ahead was the temple's entrance and Attis could see that it was completely sealed up, judging by the chains that were over the door. Looking around, he saw nothing else so Attis took a closer look at the pillar.

'Wonder what this says…?' Attis thought to himself as he examined the carved writing. Suddenly the Red Pearl in his pocket pulsed and the writing started to glow. Then there was a flash which blinded Attis, and he had to raise his hand over his eyes to shield himself. When the light died, Attis lowered his hand and saw that the writing on the pillar had changed into Japanese characters which were readable.

Looking at the transformed words, Attis was thankful that he learned the language back when he first started at the Keypers, since the various worlds had different languages depending on location. Anyway, Attis read the first line and said, "Nana iro no, kaze ni fukarete…? Hey, this is Legend of Mermaid! So this place is connected to the mermaids, but what exactly is this place?"

Suddenly there was a shifting noise and Attis turned around to see Darkballs appear from above. Aqualis materialized in Attis' hand as he said, "Heartless, why am I not surprised?" Then Attis ran forward and jumped to attack the nearest Darkball.

After the Darkballs were taken care of, more Heartless showed up, this time in the form of a group of Soldiers. There were a few other Heartless that looked like them but seemed a bit stronger and different in color, which Attis' scan ability identified as Sergeants. Attis readied his Keyblade as the Soldiers came after him first and said, "Never seen a Sergeant Heartless before, no matter…"

Soon, all of the Soldiers were eliminated and the Sergeants started attacking next. Attis soon learned that these Heartless were much tougher that the Soldiers and managed to beat one, although he got quite a few injuries in the process. After casting a few Cure spells on himself, he shot a couple of Fire spells at the Sergeant, which only seemed to phase it.

Attis continued to go on the offensive, until the Sergeant was defeated, making a popping sound as the heart it had vanished into the darkness. Attis continued to keep a lookout for anymore Heartless, but saw that there weren't anymore popping up. The Keyblade vanished from Attis' hand as he relaxed a bit and walked back to the front of the pillar.

In front of the pillar Attis looked at the writing one more time as he said to himself, "I wonder if Legend of Mermaid has to be sung in front of this pillar. It would explain the writing at the very least." Then he took out the shell necklace from his pocket and opened it, looking at the Red Pearl inside and joked, "Wonder if I should give it a shot? But should I say something like 'Red Pearl Voice!'? Heh heh, now that would be just plain weird…"

As if it responded to Attis' voice, the Red Pearl floated out of necklace and glowed for a second before it transformed into an e-Pitch. Then it landed in Attis' hand and he looked at it in disbelief saying, "Whoa, I was just kidding when I said that! Not to mention I'm not much of a singer to begin with." He continued to look at the e-Pitch and said, "I wonder how I turn this thing back to normal…"

Again, the e-Pitch glowed for a second before it vanished, and the Red Pearl went back into the shell necklace. Then Attis quickly pocketed it and thought, 'I better keep that under wraps for now. I don't even understand what just happened anyway…'

With that Attis walked away from the temple and back towards the stairs that led to the wishing ring cavern. He figured that if the Mermaid Princesses asked him about it, he would say that all he found was an empty cavern with an open chest. Attis was also worried about the boat that Maki had lent him, since he had left it alone with the cooler for quite a while. He hoped that it was still there as he made his way back up the dark stone stairs.

* * *

_Maki's restaurant_

Attis walked into the restaurant shortly after five with the cooler in hand. Maki, who was manning the counter, saw him walk in and looked relieved when he saw the cooler. Attis approached the counter and put the cooler down beside him saying, "I got the cooler. Is this the right one Maki-san?"

Maki nodded and replied, "Yes, it is. Thank you very much for getting it for me Attis. I need to remember to keep it with me when I go out." Attis nodded and said, "Well, at least you have it back."

"Yes…anyway, I see that you came back later than I thought. Did you actually go looking for the wishing ring?" Maki asked him. Attis had a slightly smug look on his face as he replied, "Well, I did find something, but there was no ring, that's for sure…" Then he thought, 'I can't say that a penguin found it and used it to wish for cake…'

Maki smiled and said, "Well at least you came back in one piece. I wouldn't know what to do if one of my employees went missing on a simple errand." Attis rolled his eyes and said, "Whatever, I'll see you later Maki-san."

"See you." Maki said as Attis left the restaurant. Outside Attis looked at the ocean and thought, 'That temple…maybe I'll bring the seven Mermaid Princesses with me to investigate in the future.' With a sigh, Attis started to walk back to his apartment.

* * *

_Attis' apartment_

After having dinner and checking to see if there was any change with the girl in the capsule, Attis went over to his laptop and started imputing data on the Sergeant Heartless. As he typed he couldn't help but think, 'I still keep on doing this, even though there's little chance I'll be able to go back to HQ. Guess I turned it into a habit of sorts…'

After that, Attis got changed and went to bed, but before he fell asleep, he heard a faint giggle. This made him jump out of bed thinking, 'Now I know I didn't imagine that!' Looking around, he jumped out of bed and ran towards the other room, opening the door. However all he saw was the capsule, which looked like it hasn't been touched since it appeared there.

Feeling frustrated, Attis thought, 'I swear I heard a girl giggling. It's either that or I'm starting to lose it.' Attis shook his head and went back to bed, and started dreaming again when he fell asleep.

* * *

_Dreamstate_

Attis found himself standing on a platform that was in the middle of plain darkness. He looked around, but saw nothing but the round pillar he was standing on, which happened to be emitting light. However when he looked down, he was surprised to see a stained glass window picture of Aqua Regina in the center, with seven mermaids of different colors surrounding her image. He said, "What the…what is this? This looks like an Awakening…"

Suddenly he heard giggling that sounded like the ones he's been hearing for the past few days. Attis whipped around, only to find the girl in the capsule stand behind him with a smile on her face. He saw that she was wide awake and had a pair of blue-grey eyes staring at him, which made him ask, "Who are you…?"

The girl continued to smile as she said, "Ne, Onii-chan, will you please teach me?" For some reason, Attis felt a slight pain in his head when the girl said 'Onii-chan', but shook it off as he asked, "Teach you what?"

"How to fight better, of course!" The girl replied, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. To his shock, Attis saw the girl summon Aqualis into her hands and hold it in a fighting stance. Then there was a flash of light, and when it faded, the girl was now in a black cloak in place of her white dress. Attis felt Aqualis materialize in his hand too and he gripped it asking, "What do you mean by that?"

The girl didn't say anything in response; instead she charged right at Attis and swung down her Keyblade at him, forcing Attis to block it with his own. If there was something that disturbed him, it was that the girl kept on smiling despite her attacking. The two broke off as the girl said, "As expected, Onii-chan is strong, even though you lost most of your powers."

Attis sighed and thought, 'As much as I hate the idea, I have no choice but to beat her down if I want her to back off.' With that Attis went after her and attacked without holding back. He managed to get in a number of hits, but what surprised Attis was the girl's fighting ability seemed to get better the longer they fought, and she even managed to get a few blows in herself.

This forced Attis to run back and he pointed Aqualis at the girl shouting, "Fire!" A fireball shot out of Aqualis and flew right at the girl. She blocked it at the last second shouting, "Hey, using magic is no fair Onii-chan! Then again two can play at that game! Fire!" A fireball shot out of her Aqualis and was aimed right at Attis. This made him dodge it as he thought, 'This girl can use magic too?!'

For a dream, Attis felt quite tired as the two continued to fight, with the girl starting to push him back. Attis was on the defensive for a bit as he thought, 'If this is a dream, then I wonder…'

Attis attacked when he saw an opening, and used a three-hit combo to send the girl flying back a bit. Then he slammed Aqualis into the ground, which confused the girl and she asked, "What are you doing Onii-chan?"

"Oh, you'll see…" Attis said with a faint smile on his lips. He held out his hands and then there were two flashes of light. From them, Solaris and Lunaria appeared in his hands, with Solaris in his right, and Lunaria in his left. This surprised the girl and Attis saw that it had caught her off guard, leaving her open. Attis took that chance to attack, and the girl barely managed to bring Aqualis up to block his initial strike.

With Solaris and Lunaria in his hands, Attis was on the total offensive, and the girl wasn't able to block all of his attacks. Eventually, the girl fell, and looking quite beaten up she said, "Aw, I wasn't able to beat you Onii-chan. Oh well, I did learn a bit from you so that's alright. I'll see you later, bye-bye!"

Suddenly the girl vanished in a flash of light, making Attis think, 'What was that all about?' Then he looked at Solaris and Lunaria and said, "Too bad this is just a dream, wielding these two just felt right just then." Suddenly the two Keyblades vanished, along with Aqualis which was stuck in the pillar.

Attis looked down at the picture again, and eyed the mermaids surrounding Aqua Regina. He recognized three of them as Lucia, Hanon, and Rina, but when his eyes fell upon the Purple and Blue mermaids, Attis felt that familiar twinge of pain in his head. Not sure what to make of it, he looked up, only to see a huge fireball heading right towards the pillar. It crashed right in the middle of the pillar, sending Attis flying as everything went white. This woke up Attis the next morning, with him in a sweat.


	12. Birthday

Chapter 12 – Birthday

_Beachside_

Attis was sitting by himself at the beach, staring at the ocean sunset. It's been a bit over a month since he found himself in the hospital and had started protecting the Mermaid Princesses from the Heartless. Not to mention working at Maki's restaurant too, and Attis couldn't remember how things got so complicated.

Then he thought back to when he walked through the portal that the Keypers used to travel to other worlds. That's when Attis remembered that someone shouted something at him but he couldn't hear what they said as he was already halfway through the portal. Wondering what that was all about, he got up and decided to walk back to his apartment.

That's when he ran into Kaito, who was just saying bye to his friends, who walked off in the opposite direction. Attis walked up to him saying, "Hi Kaito, what's up?" Kaito turned around and said, "Oh Attis, I take you heard?"

"About what?" Attis asked. Kaito looked at him and saw that Attis had no clue what he was talking about, so he told him, "Lucia's 14th birthday is on July 3rd, and we're throwing her a birthday party." An 'oh' formed on Attis' lips as he said, "I see, wow, I didn't know that."

"Me neither, until Hanon told me and my friends about it." Kaito said. Then an idea came to him and he asked, "Hey, we're going to rent a beach house for the party and decorate it, so why don't you help us Attis?"

Attis had to decline saying, "Sorry Kaito, but I have work for most of the day. I will come to the party however, that I can promise you." Kaito nodded and said, "I understand Attis. Well, at least you'll be at the party then. I'll see you later, I need to plan a few things first."

"Yeah, see you." Attis said as Kaito ran off. Then he thought to himself, 'So Lucia's going to turn 14 in a few days huh? That's interesting to know…' With that Attis walked off into the city, wondering to himself.

* * *

_City streets_

As Attis was walking, he looked around for a place to eat out. Looking around, something caught the corner of his eye and he whipped around, only to see a red pompom go around a corner and out of sight. That made him think, 'Is that what I think that is?'

Heading towards the place where he saw the red pompom, Attis turned the corner only to find an alleyway. He walked into it, having an odd feeling about the place. Sure enough, when he walked far enough, Attis heard a shout, "Kupo! Someone help kupo!"

Running towards the voice, Attis turned another corner to see a Moogle trapped at the dead end of an alleyway, with a number of Shadows surrounding it. The Moogle was terrified as the Shadows edged closer to it, making Attis materialize Aqualis shouting, "Hey you Heartless! Over here!"

Attis' voice caught the attention of the Shadows, and seeing the Keyblade in his hand, the Heartless changed targets instantly with them going after Attis. They were no match for him as all of them were defeated and turned into black mist. The Moogle was still shaken up as Attis approached it and asked, "Are you alright?"

Then the Moogle saw the Keyblade in Attis' hand and said, "Oh thank goodness kupo! I thought I was done for kupo! Thank you for your help Keyblade warrior kupo!" Attis scratched his head and said, "Don't worry about it. So, what's your name?"

The Moogle replied, "You can call me Mogie kupo! What about you?" Attis replied, "I'm Attis Hale, but call me Attis." Mogie seemed surprised at that as he said, "Attis Hale? As in Deathseeker Hale?"

Attis couldn't help but wince at that and said, "That no longer applies to me Mogie. It's just plain Attis now." Mogie nodded and said, "I understand kupo! I'll just call you Attis from now on then kupo."

Eyeing the Moogle, Attis asked, "So, how exactly did you wind up in this world Mogie? I don't remember anything about Moogles being here…"

Mogie bowed his head and said, "I'm not sure kupo… The last thing I remember is there being a flash of light, and the next instant, I find myself standing in the middle of the sidewalk in this city. I've been going around for a few days now, but I don't have a clue what's going on. And just now, those Heartless tried to attack me, and I would've been a goner if it wasn't for you Attis."

That's when Attis asked, "Do you have a place to stay Mogie?" The Moogle shook his head and said, "No, I've been wandering through this place…and most people thought I was a stuffed doll, so I wasn't bothered too much." Attis thought for a moment, and then he offered, "Why don't you stay with me, since I have a bit of space, and I live alone at the moment." Attis thought, 'If you don't count that girl in the capsule…'

Mogie looked thrilled at that and said, "You mean it kupo? Oh, thank you very much kupo!" The Moogle jumped into Attis' arms as Aqualis vanished, and Attis managed to catch the Moogle. Then Attis said, "I'll bring you back right now, so just act like a stuffed doll for now. If anyone sees you move I think they'd freak out."

"I can agree with that kupo." Mogie nodded. Attis quickly got out of the alley and back on the sidewalk as he continued walking like nothing happened. However as he walked, Attis got a few looks from the people passing by, but he ignored them as he quickly made his way back to his apartment.

While he was walking, Attis bumped into Lucia, Hanon, and Rina, who were walking together. They saw Attis and Lucia said, "Oh, hi there Attis-san." Attis looked at them and replied, "Hey you three."

That's when Hanon saw Mogie in Attis' arm and said, "Oh, that stuffed animal looks so cute! What is it Attis-san?" Attis looked at Mogie and replied, "This is a Moogle, a, um, type of stuffed animal that was handmade for me…" He trailed off there since he had nothing more to say.

Lucia and Hanon were enthralled by it as Lucia asked, "May I hold it for a moment please?" Hanon had a look that said the same thing and Attis looked very reluctant, but their stares made him give in as he held out Mogie to them saying, "…Sure, just be careful."

"Yay!" The two Mermaid Princesses shouted as they took Mogie from Attis. Inside he winced and thought, 'Sorry about that Mogie…' Meanwhile, Mogie was trying very hard to stay still as the Moogle thought, 'If this keeps up, I don't think I can keep quiet kupo…'

Fortunately, Lucia and Hanon gave Mogie back to Attis and he said, "Sorry to run, but I have something I need to do back at my apartment. I'll see you girls later." Attis gave a wave and ran off, and the three girls went on their way too, though Rina swore she saw the Moogle's pompom twitch when Mogie was given back to Attis.

* * *

_Attis' apartment_

Back at the apartment, Mogie jumped out of Attis' arm saying, "That was a close one kupo! Who were those girls kupo?" Attis and Mogie went over to the nearby couch and said, "Those girls are just friends of mine, but they're actually Mermaid Princesses. It's a long story, but I need you to not say anything about it."

"Don't worry kupo! My lips are sealed, and I don't think I'll be saying anything anytime soon anyway kupo!" Mogie replied. Attis nodded and said, "Now that's covered, I need to show you something first."

Attis led Mogie to the other room and said, "You know I said I lived alone right?" The Moogle nodded as it followed Attis by floating, "Well, that's half true, and well, you can just see for yourself."

The two were in front of the door to the second room and Attis opened it, and they went inside. Mogie was surprised to see the capsule standing upright in a corner leaning on the wall, with the girl inside looking like she was sleeping peacefully. Seeing the girl made Attis remember that weird dream where he fought her with Keyblades, but he shook his head saying, "There are some weird things happening in this world that I can't explain right now, so I'm just giving you a heads up so you won't be surprised."

Mogie nodded and asked, "So, are you saying that I can use the room if I don't mind the girl kupo?" Attis felt like he just sweatdropped as he replied, "Uh, I guess so…" Mogie nodded and said, "Thank you very much kupo! I'll be sure to repay you somehow for this!"

That's when Mogie went into the room and said, "I'll start setting things up now, and thank you very much for letting me use this room kupo." With that the door closed in Attis' face, which left him standing there for a second. Then he just shrugged and walked away, with him only hearing muffled noises coming from the room.

* * *

_Beach house_

A few days later, Attis headed over to the beach house where Kaito and the guys were busy setting up for Lucia's party. The reason for this was that Maki had told him after work yesterday that the restaurant was going to be closed for a month for a few renovations and repairs. This left Attis free for a while and Kaito asked him for a bit of help soon after.

Attis was introduced to Kaito's friends, Daichi and Kengo, and soon all of them got to work, However Daichi and Kengo had to leave early due to personal reasons, leaving Attis and Kaito to finish decorating. This took all day and soon the sun was starting to set, and that's when Lucia came by to tell Kaito something.

Overhearing the conversation, Attis heard Lucia tell Kaito about how she was going away on her birthday and wouldn't be able to have a party. From the tone of her voice, Attis could tell that Lucia was disappointed. Then Kaito called Attis over, which surprised Lucia since she didn't think he would be there. Attis said, "So, you're going back home on your birthday, right Lucia-san?"

Lucia nodded and said, "Yes, I'm sorry about it." Attis waved it off and said, "These things happen all the time, so it isn't your fault Lucia-san." Kaito nodded and said, "Why don't we take a walk Lucia?"

Lucia seemed happy at that and the two walked towards the beach with Kaito saying, "Attis, can you handle things for a bit?" Attis gave a nod and said, "Of course." Then Attis went back inside to continue decorating while Kaito and Lucia walked off to the beach.

Later, Kaito came back scratching his head and looking confused, and this made Attis ask, "Did something happen Kaito? You look a bit troubled if you ask me." Kaito looked at him and said, "Well, actually something did…"

Kaito went on to explain what had happened between him and Lucia and Attis couldn't help but wince and say, "Ah, maybe you shouldn't have joked around with her. You know girls tend to take things more seriously than guys do right?" Kaito nodded at that and said, "I suppose you're right…"

Then Attis said, "It sounded like Lucia was implying that she might not be able to come back if she went home though…" Kaito nearly slipped as he said, "W-what? Are you serious about that Attis?"

"I'm just speculating…" Attis told him. Then he said, "We'll figure that out later. First off we finish decorating this place for the party." Kaito gave a smile as he said, "Right!"

Soon, the entire place was decorated and Kaito said, "Now we can have her birthday party a day early." Attis nodded and said, "You got that right Kaito. She's sure going to be surprised by this."

The two left the house and locked the front door, with Kaito saying, "See you tomorrow Attis." Attis gave a nod and he watched Kaito walk off. Suddenly Attis felt something and saw a Shadow pop out from behind a nearby tree and scamper off. Attis kept his eyes on the spot as he kept on running towards the nearby woods.

When he got there, all he saw were just a couple of Shadows and a few Red Nocturnes together. Wondering what that was all about, Attis summoned Aqualis, and that caught their attention as they instantly went on the offensive on instinct. Attis quickly defeated them in no time and he looked around to see if there were any more, but nothing appeared, which made him think, 'Well, that was weird, even for Heartless…'

Suddenly he saw light flash through the trees and when he turned around, Attis saw that the beach house somehow caught on fire. His eyes widening, Attis quickly ran towards the place as Aqualis vanished from his hand.

When he got there Attis saw that Kaito was there, and firefighters had just arrived and started dousing the fire. He approached Kaito asking, "Kaito! What the heck just happened?" Kaito was just silent as they watched the firefighters put out the fire.

After the fire was put out, Kaito walked over the smoldering ruins, until his eyes fell upon the burnt surfboard that was going to be Lucia's present. Attis had no words to say and all he could do was walk away, and he headed back to his apartment speechless.

* * *

_Attis' apartment_

Back at the apartment, Attis found Mogie sitting on the couch watching T.V. Next to him was a small box that was wrapped with a ribbon. When Attis walked up to the Moogle, Mogie said, "Ah Attis, you're back kupo! I've finally finished what you asked me to make, though it was a bit tricky at first.

Mogie picked up the box and handed to Attis, who took it and said, "Thanks for making it on such short notice Mogie. I didn't even have all of the materials on hand too." Mogie shook his head and said, "It's alright kupo! I was just surprised at what you asked me to make, that's all kupo."

Attis nodded and couldn't help but think back to when he first saw the changes made to the spare room. First of all, Mogie only took up half of the room, leaving the other half empty. Secondly, there wasn't much to see, only a table, a shelf, and a small futon bed, with the shelf having various things on it that Attis couldn't identify. He didn't want to think of how the Moogle got all that stuff and just left it at that.

Then Attis looked down at the present and knew what was inside it. It was a ring that was in the shape of a pink flower, and it had a small rainbow-like gem in the center. However, it had a property where it would make the person wearing it resistant to offensive spells, and any companions within a close radius would benefit from the effects too. It would be useful if any magic-wielding Heartless attacked, and Attis was somewhere where he couldn't reach the Mermaid Princesses at the moment.

Putting the box on the counter, Attis went over to his room, where he got changed and said, "I'm going to sleep now Mogie, so good night."

"Good night kupo!" Mogie replied, and Attis shut the door behind him and went to sleep. Again Attis fell into a dream that he recognized from a few days ago.

* * *

_Dreamstate_

Attis found himself on the pillar again, though he was alone when he came too. Then his head suddenly started to hurt, and Attis staggered around a bit in pain. It was going on for a while until he heard a voice say, "Are you alright Onii-chan?"

Looking towards the source of the voice, Attis turned around to see the girl standing there behind him with a smile on her face. The pain subsided in an instant and Attis shook his head saying in reflex, "It's nothing."

"Oh alright…so what are you going to teach me this time?" The girl asked with enthusiasm. Attis held his hand up saying, "Hold up, a few things first; who are you? Are you the girl that's in that capsule?"

The girl nodded and said, "Yes, I am. However, all I know that is that I was created by Aqua Regina-sama and that I should learn how to fight from you. That's all I know Onii-chan." Attis rubbed his head and thought, 'That doesn't tell me much, and our last confrontation she was wielding Aqualis too…'

Attis sighed and said, "Okay I guess we'll leave it at that then. Anyway, you don't happen to have a name, do you?" The girl bowed her head and replied, "…No, Aqua Regina-sama wasn't able to for some reason." Attis saw that the girl looked quite sad at that and he sighed saying, "Hmm, let's see… Ah, I got it!" The girl looked up at Attis as he said, "Your name's going to be Aine. Calling you 'you' all the time gets tiring. If you want, I can change if you want…"

The girl looked at Attis for a moment, with silence between them. Suddenly she jumped and hugged Attis saying, "Oh, I love it Onii-chan!" Aine was squeezing Attis tightly, which made him say, "Okay Aine, I'm glad that you like it, but you're squeezing me too much!"

Aine looked a bit embarrassed and said, "Ah, I'm sorry!" Attis rubbed his sides and said, "It's okay Aine." Then a thought came to him and he asked, "You're in a capsule right? Do you know how I can get you out?"

At that Aine seemed hesitant about the topic but she managed to say, "There are two conditions for my capsule to open. One of them is for me to learn everything I can from you Onii-chan. The other is, well…"

Seeing Aine look hesitant in responding, Attis cut her off saying, "Alright, let's skip that for now. Anyway, what exactly am I supposed to be teaching you now?"

At that, Aine looked relieved as her smile came back and she told him, "You're supposed to teaching me how to fight and the basics of the magic that you use. Aqua Regina-sama said that she found it to be quite interesting."

"Really…well, first things first." Attis said as he materialized Solaris and Lunaria in his hands. Then he thought, 'Man, it's a shame that I can only use these two in this dream…' With that Attis taught Aine the basics of magic, and she was able to use Fire, Blizzard, Thunder, and Cure by the time they were done.

* * *

By the time Attis woke up early in the morning, he couldn't help but feel a bit mentally exhausted. Getting out of bed, he went over to the room where Mogie was staying and quietly opened the door. He saw that the Moogle was still asleep, so Attis quietly made his way over to the corner where the capsule was still standing. When Attis was in front of it, he looked over it, checking if it had any release switch.

After checking the capsule for a few minutes, Attis looked at Aine's face inside the capsule and saw that she has a small smile on her face. With a sigh, Attis thought, 'I wonder what that other condition is… Maybe it has to do something with Aqualis…'

Then Attis got out of the room and started preparing breakfast before going out, making sure to leave some for Mogie. He made sure to grab Lucia's present before heading out, hoping that he would see her before she had left.

* * *

_Pearl Piari_

After heading out, Attis made his way to Pearl Piari as quickly as he could. When he got there, Attis was shocked to see that the place was closed down. Looking though the windows, he could see that the entire place was completely shut down, with no one in sight. Attis thought to himself, 'No one's here… That's odd, since Lucia said that she would be leaving on her birthday…'

Getting suspicious, Attis was about to turn around and leave when he saw Kaito walk up the place. He saw Attis and said, "Hey Attis, you're here to tell Lucia the news?" Attis nodded and said, "Yeah, but it looks like she already upped and left."

"What was that?!" Kaito shouted, and he went up to the windows to take a look inside, while Attis said, "I already checked it out. The place is completely deserted. Guess that had to leave earlier than expected."

Kaito was shocked at that and turned around whispering, "So she wasn't joking around at that…" Feeling concerned, Attis asked, "Kaito?" Kaito shook it off saying, "It's nothing Attis…" and he walked away silently. Attis gave a sigh and ran off back to the apartments, wondering if his suspicions were correct.

* * *

_Apartments_

When Attis reached the apartments, he went over to Rina's place and started ringing the doorbell. However, there was no response, and Attis knew it was a bit too early for the students to go to school. This made him think, 'Ugh, they must've left due to a mermaid matter. Shoot, I don't know where they went, and if the Heartless somehow find them, it'd be too late for me to reach them.'

This made Attis cringe on the inside when suddenly, Heartless appeared, consisting of Soldiers and Shadows. Also it looked like they had Attis surrounded, with each end cut off. Summoning Aqualis, Attis said, "I doubt this is a coincidence…" Then he ran towards the closest Heartless and started attacking.

When all the Heartless were defeated, Aqualis vanished from Attis' hand as the door to his apartment opened, with Mogie popping his head out saying, "Is that you Attis, kupo?" Attis turned to the Moogle saying, "Sorry about that Mogie, just dealing with some pests."

A nod came from Mogie as he said, "If you say so kupo… Oh, and thank you very much for breakfast. It was quite good kupo!"

"It was nothing. I'll see you later Mogie." Attis told the Moogle, before he walked off. Mogie closed the door saying, "Bye kupo!"

In the streets, Attis spent most of his time wandering around town, since he had no work at the moment. Eventually he wound up by the beach where he sat down on the railing and looked out to the ocean, seeing the sun high over it. Trying to think up of what could've happened; Attis took out the Red Shell necklace and looked at the pearl inside.

Eventually he snapped out of it, and Attis spent most of the day trying to flush out the Heartless, though he did see Kaito standing near the ruins of the beach house in the afternoon, picking up what was left of what he recognized as Lucia's surfboard present. Other than that, he continued to look for any signs of the Heartless, and all he found was a really tough Zip Slasher, which he was barely able to defeat.

Heading back to his apartment at the end of the day, Attis felt exhausted due to the fight, that he didn't notice the Red Pearl in his pocket flashing every now and again. It made it look like it was trying to tell him something, but Attis' mind was too preoccupied as he settled in, with the flashing completely dying by the time he entered his apartment. In the capsule Aine's hand twitched a bit when Attis came through the door, as if it was a sign of something.


	13. Revelation

Chapter 13 – Revelation

_Beachside_

Attis was sitting on the beach, things going through his head. Today was Lucia's birthday, but she and the others were no longer around, and Attis still had no idea where they went. He had also noticed that everyone else was gone and wondered if it was really a mermaid matter that was being dealt with.

As he sat there, Attis heard a noise and looked up and around, until his eyes fell upon a pale pink dolphin, one which Attis recognized as Momo's mother. Attis heard the dolphin speak in his mind, 'Keyblade warrior, you are needed at the North Pacific Palace!'

Taken off guard by the sudden statement, Attis asked, 'What are you talking about?'

'Aqua Regina-sama approached me in a dream saying that I should bring you to the North Pacific Palace for Princess Lucia's coming-of-age ceremony.' The dolphin told him. Attis' eyes widened a bit at that and repeated, 'Coming-of-age ceremony?'

'Yes, Aqua Regina-sama is afraid that the Heartless will be attracted to the ceremony for some reason, and she fears that Gaito might attack as well. The Aqua and Green Mermaid Princesses are with her, but Aqua Regina fears that it won't be enough if the Heartless show up…' The dolphin informed him.

'Well, at least that answers a lot of questions…' Attis thought. Then he asked, 'So, how do I get there exactly? I don't know where the palace is.' The dolphin replied, 'Don't worry about that, I'll take you there personally.' Then the dolphin turned around and motioned to Attis to get on it's back.

A sigh came from Attis and said, "Might as well, but I'd better get changed first." Then he materialized the black cloak and put it on himself. The mask was also materialized but he just held on to it as Attis got on the dolphin's back and the dolphin swam off.

As Attis was riding, they came up to another dolphin and to his surprise; it was Kaito on who he recognized as Momo's back. Attis tried to throw his hood over his head, but Kaito recognized him and said, "Attis, is that you?"

Attis inwardly winced as he replied, "Yeah, it's me." Kaito looked at him and asked, "What's with the getup? You kind of look like you're in a cult of some sort."

"Uh…I can't really say at the moment," Attis told him, when the dolphins made a noise and started going underwater. Attis quickly slapped on the mask and pulled his hood over his face while Kaito shouted something as the four of them went under.

* * *

_North Pacific Palace_

After a long time swimming, Attis and Kaito reached what looked like a big pink palace, and it didn't take a genius to figure out that it was the North Pacific Palace. Although, Kaito didn't know due to not having a clue what was going on, and instead, was just amazed that something like this existed under the ocean.

Then both Momo and his mother swam through what looked like the entrance, and the two of them found themselves in a place where it looked like there was air, which Attis found odd. Taking off the mask, Attis looked around as Kaito asked Momo questions. All of a sudden, Attis had a strange feeling in his heart and said, "Sorry Kaito, but I need to check something.

Kaito tried to stop him but Attis was already down the hall and out of sight, making him say, "What's with him?" However, the thought was completely wiped from his mind when Kaito saw Lucia in her mermaid form, shocked that she was there before him.

As Attis ran down the hall, he thought, 'This feeling, I never expected _her_ to be here… If she is, then it would explain the Heartless' actions.' He turned another corner when Attis started hearing this icky melody that gave him a chill and thought, 'What the heck is that?!'

In another part of the palace, there was a hooded person in a brown cloak that was going from room to room, looking for something. The mermaids that were going through the hallways couldn't see the person for some reason, even though they swam right past the figure.

Looking in another room and closing it, the figure said in a female voice, "She's not here either…where did the Pink Mermaid Princess run off to anyway…?" When Gaito's melody started to play, the figure smirked and said, "Interesting, maybe my Heartless should come out to play as well…" With a wave of her hand, the figure summoned Shadows from the ground, just as Attis rounded the corner.

Seeing the figure in the brown cloak, Attis hissed, "So it was you after all…" The figure turned around and said, "Oh…if it isn't the Keyblade warrior Attis. I wasn't expecting you to be here of all places." Attis spat back, "I knew there was something weird about the Heartless' actions, but who would've figured that it was you pulling their strings, Mayluna!"

The figure, Mayluna, giggled and said, "It's been a while, hasn't it Attis? I would love to stay and chat, but I have Mermaid Princesses to find. I guess my Heartless can entertain you." With another wave of her hand, a couple of Wizards and Soldiers popped up, and Mayluna walked off, making Attis summon Aqualis as he shouted, "Wait just right there!"

The Heartless cut him off and attacked, as Mayluna walked away giggling. Attis cut right through the Shadows and Soldiers, though the Wizards were more difficult to defeat, due to the magic they were casting. Nonetheless, Attis went right through them and tried to follow Mayluna, though it looked like Heartless were appearing with each step that she took.

As Attis sliced through the Heartless, he saw that a few pink mermaids were being chased by a number of Heartless. He ran over to help them, just as a Soldier was about to plunge its claws into one of the mermaids' chest. Attis sliced it in half and said, "You mermaids need to go now! I'll hold them off."

The mermaids immediately complied, not questioning why there was a stranger in the palace. All they thought about was getting away from the danger a soon as possible, while Attis fought through the Heartless. As he continued onward, Attis looked to see if there were other mermaids around, but all he saw were shut doors and figured they locked themselves in.

Attis was starting to get angry as he continued to slice through the Heartless like a hot knife through butter, determined to reach Mayluna. Eventually he reached a large hallway that looked like it led to somewhere important, and that's where he found Mayluna standing at the other end in front of a door.

Hearing Attis' footsteps, Mayluna turned around and said, "My, you're quite persistent, you know that? Girls don't like guys like that you know?" Attis was starting to get pissed at Mayluna's attitude as he said, "You're going to go down right now Mayluna!"

A smirk formed on Mayluna's lips as she said, "In your current weakened state, you're no match for me Attis." Attis was taken aback by that and she continued to say, "Surprised? Let's just say I know a few things, like how you've been using that Keyblade instead of Solaris and Lunaria all this time, and how you can't use most of your abilities."

Attis narrowed his eyes and said, "As if you know everything, that won't matter when I destroy you right here and now!" He charged, but a bunch of Darkballs appeared and blocked the way, which Attis just cleared out like there was no tomorrow. Mayluna shook her head and said, "I guess if you want something done, you have to do it yourself…" With that she held out her hand, and a Soul Eater blade appeared in her hand.

Gripping Aqualis tightly, Attis charged right at Mayluna, but she simply blocked it with her Soul Eater in one hand saying, "Hmm, that's an interesting Keyblade you have there, mind telling me what it's called?"

"As if!" Attis shouted, and tried pushing Mayluna back, but she beat him to it, making Attis skid back a bit. Suddenly they heard singing and Mayluna smirked, "It looks like the little Mermaid Princesses are fighting back. I wonder if it's the other mystery guest they're fighting against…"

Attis went back on the offensive shouting, "Aero!" A blast of air shot out from the tip of Aqualis, aimed right at Mayluna. She sliced through it with one slash with her Soul Eater saying, "That was pathetic Attis! I guess the great duo-wielder really has fallen!" This made Attis angry and he started attacking with Aqualis with quite the ferocity, though only a few of the strikes hit Mayluna.

Then Attis tried firing a Fire spell at point blank range, but Mayluna knocked Aqualis upwards, and the Fire spell shot towards the ceiling. Mayluna laughed and said, "Getting desperate are we Attis?" Attis responded by trying to attack again, but Mayluna vanished in a puff of darkness, only to reappear behind him with her hand out saying, "Darkra!" A giant orb of darkness appeared and shot towards Attis, and at the last second, he blocked it with Aqualis, though the orb was making him fly back as he continued to block it.

In the main hall, Lucia, Hanon, and Rina had just finished singing Super Love Songs and they said, "Love Shower-!" However they were interrupted by a collapsing explosion, making everyone take cover as Attis skid across the hall blocking the orb of darkness. It hit the other side of the hall, making a big explosion, and everyone had to cover their faces as Lucia shouted, "What the heck was that?!"

Everyone in the hall had the exact same thoughts when they heard Mayluna laughing. She stepped into the hall saying, "Hahaha, I can't believe that you actually tried to block that!" The dust cleared, and everyone saw Mayluna in her brown cloak standing there with Soul Eater in her hand. Gaito, who had lowered his arms thought, 'Who is that? I sense powerful energy coming from her…' Lucia meanwhile shouted, "Who exactly are you? What are you doing here?"

Mayluna turned to the three Mermaid Princesses and said, "Oh, if it isn't the Pink Mermaid Princess. I've been looking for you all this time, you know it's bad for you to just run off you know?"

Lucia was taken aback by Mayluna's playful tone as Hanon and Rina went closer to Lucia, which made her say, "If it isn't the Aqua and Green Mermaid Princesses too! How lucky, but I'll deal with you three later." That's when Attis weakly said, "C-Cure!"

Everyone turned around to see Attis stand up, using Aqualis to support himself. Lucia shouted, "Ace-san!" which made Mayluna giggle and say, "Ace? They don't know who you really are, don't they?"

The three Mermaid Princesses looked from Mayluna to Attis, not knowing what was going on. Gaito and the Dark Lovers were silent as Attis managed to stand up straight after downing a Potion. That's when Mayluna snapped her fingers and a couple of Soldiers popped out in front of her. This made everyone's eyes widen and Hanon said, "Heartless?! Then that means that you control them?!"

"Yes, I do in fact." Mayluna said with a giggle, "But as I said, I'll deal with you three later, isn't that right, Attis?"

"Attis?!" The three Mermaid Princesses shouted. Sure enough, the hood that Attis had on slipped off, revealing his face. However, when Attis looked up, they saw that his eyes had turned red, and Attis took out the shell necklace from his pocket and said, "As if I'll let you just take them and run." Then he held the shell necklace to Aqualis and said, "Red Pearl Synchro!"

There was a flash of light and the Red Pearl fused with Aqualis. Gaito saw that and thought, 'Red Pearl? So the rumors were true after all…though who would've thought it would be in the hands of that Keyblade warrior.' The Soldiers reacted to the light and charged right at Attis, but he swiped them away with one stroke of Aqualis.

Suddenly, Aqua Regina appeared again, this time beside Attis as Mayluna spat, "Aqua Regina, what a nuisance…" Attis looked up and said, "Oh, it's you Aqua Regina…"

Aqua Regina spoke to him saying, "Attis, in your current state you are not strong enough to take on Mayluna on an equal level. You must rely on the support of the Mermaid Princesses for now when necessary." Mayluna interrupted them saying, "That won't be happening anytime soon, since I'm going to turn Attis into a Heartless right here and now!"

With that Mayluna raised her hand, and a whole lot of Heartless showed up and charged right at Attis. That's when Aqua Regina raised her staff, and it resonated with Aqualis, making a big flash of light. The light destroyed all of the Heartless and everyone saw hearts rise and vanish into thin air.

This made Mayluna mad as she said, "Even though she's just a projection, that light is too strong…guess that I'll just have to take care of you myself!" She tried to run forward, but there was another blast of light that sent her flying back a bit, as Aqua Regina said, "I can unlock some of your power right now, but it'll only last for an hour…"

"That's fine, since beating her back won't even take that long." Attis said with confidence. Aqua Regina nodded and she pointed her staff towards Attis, and he started to glow a bit. While this was going on, Gaito thought, 'So the Keyblade warrior is allied with Aqua Regina…this may hinder my plans. Although…' His gaze went over to Mayluna, who was getting up from the blast she took.

The glow faded and Aqua Regina vanished saying, "Good luck Attis." Then her voice addressed the Mermaid Princesses saying, "Please trust him Mermaid Princesses…"

Attis meanwhile felt stronger than usual, almost like his old self and said, "I'm not planning on falling here today Mayluna. That's your job, and I'm going to see to that." Mayluna stood up and retorted, "We'll just see about that!"

All of a sudden, a few strange things happened. First was Aqualis suddenly vanishing, leaving the Red Pearl behind, which floated in front of him. Then the shell necklace flew out of his pocket and it hung itself around Attis' neck, much to his surprise. The last thing was the Red Pearl going into the shell necklace and went back into its place. He thought to himself, 'What's going on? Why did Aqualis disappear on me?'

That's when Mayluna has a smug look under her hood and charged right at him. That's when the Red Pearl glowed and two flashes of light appeared from Attis' hands. Raising his hands up to block it, Mayluna and Attis were surprised, when Solaris and Lunaria appeared in his hands and blocked Mayluna's Soul Eater. Attis took that chance to push Mayluna back and he went on the offensive.

Meanwhile the Panterassa fish crashed through the wall, and Gaito took that chance to get on the fish while saying to the Dark Lovers, "We'll withdraw for today! There's too many foreign elements here!"

This attracted Lucia, Hanon, and Rina's attention and Gaito told them, "You three still have a long way to go… Before we meet again, you should take some lessons, Mermaid Princesses!" Then he gave one last look at the two battlers and left the castle, which made the Mermaid Princesses turn their attention to Attis and Mayluna.

Attis had Mayluna on the total defensive as he kept up the attack, and one of the blows sent Mayluna flying into a nearby pillar. She fell down and coughed saying, "Damn that Aqua Regina, if it wasn't for her I would've been this much closer to opening the door to Kingdom Hearts."

The three Mermaid Princesses were confused by that as Lucia said, "Kingdom Hearts?" Attis walked over to where Mayluna was slumped and said, "That's never going to happen since you're going to vanish right here!" Attis raised Solaris up as a smirk appeared on Mayluna's lips as she said, "You think I would fall here this soon Attis? You disappoint me!"

Suddenly Mayluna snapped her fingers, and Neoshadows appeared, which lunged at Attis the moment they appeared. Attis fought them back, but Mayluna had already got up and ran through the hole that the orb of darkness had created. After taking care of the Neoshadows, Attis ran through the hole after her shouting, "Get back here!"

Now Lucia, Hanon, and Rina were by themselves as they transformed back into their mermaid forms, with Lucia asking, "Uh, what just happened?" Hanon rubbed her head and said, "I don't know, but what I do know is that Ace-san is actually Attis-san!"

Rina had a frown on her face since she was just as surprised as Lucia and Hanon when she saw that it was actually Attis who was protecting them. She shook her head and said, "We'll deal with that later, but first we need to see if everyone else is alright."

That seemed to snap Lucia out of it and she swam off in a hurry shouting, "Kaito!" Lucia's shout confused Hanon and Rina as Hanon shouted, "Lucia, wait-! Dang, she's already gone. What was she talking about anyway?"

"She shouted Kaito's name, but I have no idea why. C'mon, we better check to see if Nikora-san and the others are alright." Rina told Hanon, and the two of them swam off after Lucia.

Meanwhile, Attis was busy chasing Mayluna, until he found himself back at the entrance, though there was a hole in the ceiling and debris was still here and there. At the other end, Attis saw that Mayluna had opened a dark portal and she said, "It's time for me to leave, but that doesn't mean that I won't leave a parting gift. Enjoy Attis!"

With a snap of her fingers, a Guard Armor appeared in the middle of the room as Mayluna disappeared through the portal. Attis knew that it was too late to catch her as the portal vanished, so he focused all of his energy to defeating the Guard Armor. With Solaris and Lunaria in hand, it wasn't too difficult to bring down the Guard Armor, and Attis watched as the Heart it held rise up into the air and vanished.

Looking around to see what had happened, Attis suddenly heard someone singing Legend of Mermaid, who Attis recognized as Lucia's voice. That's when the dolphin that brought him down appeared before him and Attis asked, "Are you going to bring me back up to the surface now?"

The dolphin nodded as it turned around to let him get on. Attis took one last look at his two Keyblades when he noticed something different about them. The Keyblades themselves were the same, but now they had a keychain each attached to them, something he doesn't remember them having before.

Taking a closer look, Attis saw that Solaris had a different keychain attached, and at the end was a crystal orb, with what looked like a blue pearl at the center. On Lunaria it was the same, but in the center of it's crystal orb was a purple pearl. Seeing these, it gave Attis a splitting headache for a second, and it subsided as Solaris and Lunaria vanished from Attis' hands, making him think, 'There's something special about the Blue and Purple Mermaid Princesses, but what is it? I don't have any memory of ever meeting them…'

The dolphin looked concerned as it asked, 'Are you alright Keyblade warrior?" Attis shook his head as he got on and replied, "It's nothing, I'm fine." The dolphin gave a squeak as it left the palace on it's way to the surface.

As they were traveling, Attis was a bit out of it until he realized that he hadn't put on his mask. He panicked for a second until he found that he was breathing just fine, as if the water was air. Attis was puzzled by that until his eyes fell upon the Red Shell necklace and thought, 'Does the pearl allow me to breath underwater?' This kept Attis in thought as the dolphin brought him to the surface.

* * *

_Beachside_

The dolphin dropped Attis onto the shore and he waved goodbye as the dolphin swam back into the ocean. Quickly stuffing the shell necklace down his shirt, Attis walked along the beachside until he saw Kaito standing there, just standing by the ocean. Attis was about to turn around when Kaito saw him in his cloak and shouted, "Attis! Is that you?!"

Attis knew he was caught and walked up to him saying, "Hey Kaito…" Kaito looked at the cloak Attis was still wearing and he said, "It wasn't a dream, right?"

"…Uh, what are you talking about?" Attis asked him. Kaito suddenly grabbed Attis by the collar and said, "The palace, the mermaid, all of it!" Kaito was shaking him as he said that, making Attis said, "W-whoa Kait-to, c-calm do-own!"

Kaito realized what he just did and let go saying, "Oh, s-sorry about that Attis…" Attis looked at him and asked, "Are you talking about the whole palace under the ocean thing Kaito?"

There was a moment of silence that made Attis feel a bit awkward until Kaito said, "Then it wasn't a dream…the mermaid," Attis was taken aback a bit when Kaito looked at him in the eye asking, "Did you happen to see a mermaid that stood out back there Attis?"

Attis wondered if Kaito was talking about Lucia and decided to take a stab at it saying, "Let's see…there was one mermaid that stood out. She had long blond hair, blue eyes, pink tail, and was wearing what I think was an exquisite dress. Does that answer your question?"

Kaito seemed quite happy with his response and said, "Yes, yes it does. Thank you very much for telling me that Attis. It proves that it definitely wasn't a dream…" Attis got curious and asked, "If you don't mind me asking, is there something going on between you and that mermaid?"

There was a bit of hesitance on Kaito's face, but after what had happened, he told Attis the story of how he was saved by that mermaid in the past. When Kaito finished, Attis said, "Wow, that's quite the history there. I guess that would explain a few things…"

Then Attis looked at the setting sun as he took off the cloak and held it in his arms. Attis put his hand on Kaito's shoulder and said, "I'll see you later Kaito, it's been a long day for me you know."

"Yeah, see you later…" Kaito replied, still looking at the sunset. Attis sighed as he made his way back to his apartment.

* * *

_Attis' apartment_

When Attis walked through the door, Mogie greeted him saying, "Welcome back kupo! Whoa, what happened to you Attis? You look exhausted kupo!" Attis looked at Mogie as the black cloak in his arm vanished and replied, "It's a long story, but at least I managed to come back in one piece."

"Whatever you say kupo…" Mogie said as he went back to watching T.V.. Attis went over to his laptop and booted it up, then started inputting data into it, especially the part about Mayluna. When he was finished, Attis offhandedly tried to summon Solaris and Lunaria again, but found that he wasn't able to anymore. A sigh came from Attis as Aqualis managed to appear in his hand and he said, "Guess it really lasted only for an hour…"

Then Attis had a chilling thought when he remembered that his identity was exposed to Lucia, Hanon, and Rina during the fight and thought, 'Lucia and Hanon might be understanding, but Rina…man why do I feel like she's going to try and rip my head off the first second she sees me? I know that she's been suspicious, but I don't think that she's the type to do that…'

A sigh came from Attis as he got ready for bed and thought, 'I know that I'm going to be confronted by those girls sooner or later, so might as well brace myself.'

Just as Attis was about to fall asleep he heard a familiar giggle and murmured, "It's not funny Aine…" Then he fell asleep and it was actually dreamless for once, something that surprised Attis when he woke up the next day.


	14. Confrontation

Chapter 14 – Confrontation

_Attis' apartment_

A few days had past since Attis found Mayluna at the North Pacific Palace and his identity was exposed. Attis was expecting any one of the Mermaid Princesses to show up at his doorstep any day now demanding answers, which was why he had kept himself in his apartment ever since. Mogie was a bit worried about Attis' behavior but he assured the Moogle that everything was alright.

Now it was the afternoon when the doorbell rang, which made Attis freeze on the spot. Mogie looked over to him as Attis took a gulp, then mustered up his courage and answered the door. Opening it, he found Rina in her school uniform waiting outside, and it made him cringe and thought, 'Man, it had to be Rina of all people…'

Attis opened his mouth say something but Rina beat him to it saying, "I'm here to take you to Pearl Piari." The way Rina said it made Attis feel like he was on death row, though he was over thinking things, and all he could say was, "Uh, let me get ready first."

A nod came from Rina and Attis closed the door, with him wiping a bead of sweat from his forehead. Mogie flew over to him and whispered, "Are you alright kupo?"

"I'm fine, just need to get dressed…" Attis whispered back, walking over to his room and putting on his black dress shirt, since he was already in his pair of black jeans and brown t-shirt. After getting the shell necklace off the table and stuffed it in his pocket, Attis went over to Mogie and said, "I need you to come with me, so make sure you stay still and quiet unless I say otherwise."

Mogie nodded and Attis went over to grab a nearby bag and stuffed Mogie into it. Then he saw the present that he had prepared for Lucia and threw it in too before he opened the door. When he walked out Rina saw the bag and asked, "What's that for?"

"Uh, it's nothing. Please lead the way." Attis said in a slightly hushed tone. Rina raised an eyebrow at that and she led the way to Pearl Piari. Attis was behind her, wondering what Rina was going to do to him, since he had a bad feeling about it.

* * *

_Pearl Piari_

When they reached Pearl Piari, Rina opened the door and Attis went in first. When the door closed behind Rina, she led Attis to the dining hall, where Lucia, Hanon, Nikora, Taki, and Hippo were waiting. Attis suddenly felt very uncomfortable when all the eyes fell on him, and he took a seat opposite where everyone was sitting.

Rina was about to sit when Attis blurted out, "If you're going to beat me don't make it hurt too much!"

This made everyone confused as Attis closed his eyes, expecting to be beaten. When nothing happened, he opened an eye and saw that everyone looked confused. He asked, "Wait, I'm not here to be beaten?"

"I don't know where you got that idea Attis-san, but I assure you, nothing like that is going to happen." Nikora assured him. Attis looked around and asked, "Then why did Rina-san look like she was going to break me in half when I answered the door?"

Everyone turned to Rina as Hanon said, "Jeez Rina, I didn't think you were serious when you said that you were going to beat the answers out of him." Rina's face turned pink as she said, "I didn't say anything like that!" Attis was a bit confused at that when they all looked at each other and laughed except for Rina and Attis.

When they calmed down Nikora told Attis, "All we want is for you to answer some questions for us Attis-san." Attis seemed to calm down at that and said, "If that's it, then I guess it's alright…"

That's when Lucia asked, "You're really the person in the black cloak right?" When Attis nodded Hanon asked, "Why did you hide your identity from us?"

"Well, you see," Attis started, "It's more of a procedure for me. All I can say is that I had my reasons for not telling you, and I am sorry about that."

Everyone seemed to accept that when Rina asked, "How long have you known that we were Mermaid Princesses? You knew who I was even in my human form." Attis raised an eyebrow and said, "Those necklaces around your necks made it obvious to me that you three are the Pink, Aqua, and Green Mermaid Princesses. Not to mention I heard that those necklaces are a one-of-a-kind type of thing."

The three Mermaid Princesses were surprised at that as Lucia said, "If Attis was able to figure it out that easily, then why can't Kaito figure it out?" Attis assured her, "Don't worry about it too much Lucia-san. I was trained to be observant; that's why I was able to figure it out pretty quickly."

"You were trained?" Nikora asked, sounding confused. Attis sighed and said, "Okay, I'm going to explain a few things first, and if you have questions, please say something."

Everyone nodded at that and Attis cleared his throat saying, "Okay, first things first. What am I about to say may shock you, but I'm actually from another world, and I was sent here to protect the Mermaid Princesses from the Heartless." There was a moment of silence as everyone had raised their eyebrows at that. That's when Nikora asked, "Um, Attis-san, I'd hate to ask, but how old are you?"

"…I'm seventeen, last I knew. Why?" Attis asked them. That's when Taki asked, "But aren't you the Keyblade warrior that helped Aqua Regina-sama ten years ago?"

Attis knew where they were getting at now and had to carefully choose what he was going to say, since it was a complicated topic. He said, "Yes, I am. However before you have any questions about that, I need to tell you something…

"You see, I have a case of amnesia between the time I arrived to this world ten years ago, up to the time where I found myself in this timeframe in a hospital. I have recovered some of my memory, but most of it is still a blur, especially that last battle, since all I know is that it's the reason I got sent to this present time a month ago." Attis explained. Then he asked, "Do any of you know what happened by any chance?"

Lucia, Hanon, and Rina shook their heads, and both Nikora and Taki had apologetic looks as Nikora said, "Sorry Attis-san, but all we know is that the Keyblade warrior mysteriously vanished after defeating the darkness with Aqua Regina-sama."

A sigh came from Attis as he said, "It's okay, I'll find out sooner or later. Next thing is that I'm not the only Keyblade warrior that exists. I belong to an organization called the Keypers, a group of Keybladers that fight the Heartless, to keep them from consuming worlds and sending them into darkness, as well as keeping the balance between light and darkness."

That's when Rina asked, "What are the Heartless exactly Attis-san?" Again, Attis had to think about it to remember before his replied, "They're beings without hearts, and are tied to the darkness. They prey on beings with hearts, like humans, and the hearts they steal turn into Heartless. You saw what they did to those thugs back at the harbor, right?"

The three Mermaid Princesses remembered that incident as Attis went on, "The Heartless are especially attracted to strong hearts, like the Mermaid Princesses', though I think it has more to do with Mayluna and Kingdom Hearts though…"

That's when Hanon asked, "That person you were fighting, she mentioned a Kingdom Hearts. What is that exactly?"

"…It's the heart of all hearts." Attis replied, "I don't know much about it myself, but what I do know, is that Kingdom Hearts has a lot of power. Even more than Aqua Regina I think. If Mayluna gets her hands on it this world and all others will be doomed to be devoured by the darkness."

Everyone in the room was shocked at that and Attis said, "Just kidding, though if Mayluna does get her hands on Kingdom Hearts, it will make things much easier for her to let the darkness devour worlds."

"Uh, that didn't sound much different from what you just said Attis-san…" Lucia said. Attis thought about it and said with a laugh, "Yeah, I guess you're right…" That's when Attis summoned Aqualis in front of everyone, which still surprised the Mermaid Princesses slightly, even though they've seen the Keyblade many times. Nikora, Taki, and Hippo however, were surprised at that as Hippo said, "So that's a Keyblade huh? First time seeing one…"

Suddenly, Hippo covered his mouth after realizing that he spoke, which made Attis say, "You know, seeing that I'm being open with you and all, I don't think it's necessary for Hippo to hide his ability to talk from me. I actually have something like that…"

Attis leaned over to the bag and gently picked Mogie out of it and put him on the table. Everyone there eyed it as Lucia said, "Isn't that your stuffed animal Attis-san?"

Mogie suddenly jumped up and said, "I'm no stuffed animal kupo! I'm a real living Moogle kupo!" That nearly shocked everyone there as Hippo jumped up onto the table and looked over Mogie, who felt a bit uncomfortable as he asked, "Is something wrong kupo?"

"I've never heard of a Moogle before…" Hippo replied. Everyone else seemed to be thinking along those same lines, so Attis explained, "Like me, Mogie came from another world. I don't know which one, but what I do know that when the darkness took over their world, Mogie and his kin were scattered."

Everyone nodded in understanding and Attis put Aqualis down on the table, letting the others take a closer look at it. Then he said, "This Keyblade is called Aqualis, and it was one that Aqua Regina gave me a few weeks after I had gotten out of the hospital. I actually use a pair called Solaris and Lunaria, but for some odd reason, I can't summon them right now."

There was a unanimous nod from everyone as Lucia, Hanon, and Rina took a closer look at the Keyblade. That's when Lucia said, "Ah, the wings attached to the green orb at the end look exactly like the tip of Aqua Regina-sama's staff!"

That's when Nikora noticed the eight holes where the pearls would be held and asked, "Attis-san, what are those holes in Aqualis for?" Attis looked at Nikora and replied, "Aqua Regina made it so that the eight pearls would be able to fuse with Aqualis, giving it more power to fight the Heartless."

Hippo seemed confused at that and said, "Eight pearls? From what I know, there's only seven pearls. Though Lucia-san and the others have been going on about this other pearl recently…"

"And they're not mistaken." Attis said, pulling out the Red Shell necklace and putting it on the table beside Aqualis. Seeing the necklace, Lucia, Hanon, and Rina looked at their own to see that it was definitely the same as theirs, but with a red color scheme. It opened up to reveal the Red Pearl inside, and Hippo whipped out the Pearl Radar that he had on him to take a look. However, the Red Pearl gave no reaction and so it didn't appear on the Radar, making Hippo say, "Is this really a mythical pearl like the others? It's not giving off any reaction of the sorts."

"I don't know why, maybe it's masking it's presence somehow, that's what Aqua Regina said…" Attis replied, unsure of it though. That's when Nikora noticed Taki looking at it intently and asked, "Is something wrong Taki-san? You seem quite interested in the pearl…"

Everyone looked towards Taki as she replied, "It's something that I came across back at the North Pacific Palace a long time ago. There's a hidden book about the mermaid history of the North Pacific in the palace's library, and I found an interesting piece near the beginning of the book."

That's when Lucia said, "We have a library back at the palace?" That made everyone look at her oddly as Nikora said with annoyance, "Of course we have Lucia! You went there for your studies when you were younger! Please go on Taki-san."

Attis couldn't help but smirk, as Hanon and Rina looked amused too. Taki went on to say, "The book said that the North Pacific mermaids were supposed to be represented by the color red, instead of pink, with their crown jewel being the Red Pearl. However, due to unknown events that only Aqua Regina-sama knows, the Red Pearl was replaced by the Pink Pearl, and the Red Pearl was taken away by Aqua Regina-sama."

Everyone, especially Attis, found that quite interesting as he looked at the Red Pearl and said, "Well, Aqua Regina gave me the Red Pearl for safekeeping at the same time she gave me Aqualis."

There was a moment of silence before Attis asked, "Did I cover everything, or is there something I still haven't explained?" Nikora spoke up saying, "Yes, there is one thing that you haven't explained to us. What is the connection between the Mermaid Princesses and Kingdom Hearts? Lucia said that this Mayluna person wanted to capture her like Gaito tried to, and I'm guessing that there's a connection."

Attis couldn't help but feel slightly impressed by that deduction as he said, "Yes there is. Actually there's a story behind Kingdom Hearts, one that I'm a bit sketchy on the details on, but what I do know that Kingdom Hearts is sealed in a special place, I think. To be able to open the door to it, the seven Princesses of Heart are required to gather together to open the door. I think it is said that the Princesses are pure of heart, meaning that they have no darkness within their hearts. That's the reason why they are able to open the door to Kingdom Hearts, and they are unable to become Heartless themselves, from what I heard.

"Now, how the story went is that the Princesses are scattered across worlds, but HQ thinks that the Mermaid Princesses of this world also possess the qualities of the Princesses of Heart. And with Mayluna around that seems very likely…" Attis thought about it for a moment while everyone else absorbed the information. Lucia, Hanon, and Rina were surprised that they were like the Princesses of Heart, and everyone wondered if Aqua Regina knew all of this.

Then Nikora asked, "You keep mentioning this Mayluna person Attis-san; do you mind if you tell us who this person is?" At that everyone looked at Attis, and he felt a bit uncomfortable at the mention of Mayluna's name. However he did manage to say something, "…Well, all I can say is that Mayluna is someone who can command Heartless because she is tied to the darkness and has a strong will, which are necessary to control them. That's all I can say for now, since I already mentioned that her target is the Mermaid Princesses and Kingdom Hearts."

All of them wanted to ask more, but they kept quiet due to the feeling that Attis didn't want to talk about it right now. That's when Attis' mood changed back to normal and asked, "Is there anything else you girls want to know?"

There was just silence as everyone looked at each other. Attis noticed that Hippo and Mogie weren't around and looked around, until he saw that they were at a table nearby talking to each other. Then Nikora said, "Just one more thing; are you able to contact your comrades back at your world Attis-san?"

Shaking his head, Attis replied, "…Unfortunately no, since I somehow lost my communicator during that final battle ten years ago. Even if I could, it has been ten years physically, so I'm probably been declared MIA or something." He gave a sigh and said, "Basically, I'm probably stuck here for life, since I have no way of getting back to my homeworld where Keypers HQ is. I don't really mind though, since this world does feel like a nice place to live."

Everyone seemed satisfied as Lucia stood up and picked up Aqualis saying, "Wow, the little wings on Aqualis are so cute! As expected of Aqua Regina-sama, she really knows how to create something!"

Aqualis was past on to Hanon and she said, "And it gets stronger too, when we synchronize our pearls to it. I bet it needs all seven of the Mermaid Princesses' pearls, plus the Red Pearl, to bring out it's true power, right Attis-san?"

Attis nodded as Hanon passed Aqualis to Rina, and she examined it, even taking a few swings with it. That made her ask, "Attis-san, what exactly are Keyblades? I noticed that this is the only weapon you fight with against the Heartless."

"Keyblades are the main weapons that are effective against the Heartless, and can truly get rid of them. You can use other weapons, as long as they're enchanted with magic or something of the sort, and magic itself is effective as well. However, only the Keyblade can truly get rid of them, as they would keep coming back when defeated. I'm guessing the reason most Heartless are harmed by your songs when you sing is that they are magically imbued, so they can harm them. But since it isn't actual physical magic, you can't really finish them off. Make them retreat maybe, but not finishing them off." Attis explained to everyone.

Then Attis held his hand out to Aqualis, and it vanished from Rina's hands in a flash, surprising everyone as it reappeared in Attis' hand. He then told them, "Just one more thing I'll mention, and it's that when I received Aqualis from Aqua Regina, she told me that she created it from the power of the Red Pearl. Just thought I would like to mention it."

Suddenly Attis got up and gave a bow saying, "Again, I'm sorry for deceiving everyone, and I hope that you can trust me in the future."

Lucia nodded and said, "We trust you Attis." Hanon added to that saying, "Yes, and thank you for that time back where you let me deal the finishing blow to that Heartless that was made from Taro-chan's music. It meant a lot to me."

Rina still seemed to look a bit skeptical about trusting Attis, even though Lucia and the others had already decided to. That's when Attis suddenly fell to his knees at Rina's feet, which surprised her and the others. He begged in a tone that didn't sound like him, "Rina-ojou-sama, please forgive me, I didn't mean to deceive you, and I'll do anything to earn your trust again!" Rina was taken by surprise at this, as well as the others who thought that Attis must be desperate to get Rina to trust him like Lucia and Hanon.

Attis even went as far to say, "I'll even get you anything you want, as long as it's within my power to do so!" Rina thought about it and said half-jokingly, "Then would you buy me a brand-new wide screen plasma T.V.?"

Not hearing that Rina wasn't serious about that, Attis looked up and said seriously, "Yes, if that's what it took to earn your trust again." He even went on to say, "I'll even get you a surround sound system, DVD Player, the works! Just say the word Rina-sama!"

Everyone looked like they sweatdropped at that as Rina was taken aback by what Attis offered her. A part of her was really considering taking Attis' offer, since it sounded really good. However, a better part of her won over and she said, "It's okay, I was only joking! And please don't call me 'ojou-sama', just Rina is fine."

Attis got up and said, "Thank goodness for that. Oh and all of you can just call me Attis, without any attachments. To be honest, Japanese isn't my native language, it's English." Lucia, Hanon, and Rina nodded at that and Lucia said, "Then you can do the same for us, if you want Attis."

"Thanks everyone." Attis said. He looked over to Mogie, only to see the Moogle engaging in conversation with Hippo about things. When he looked over to the bag he brought, Attis remembered Lucia's present and took it out saying, "Before I forget, here Lucia…" He gave the present to Lucia, "Here's your birthday present Lucia."

Lucia was happy to receive it and said, "Oh, thank you very much Attis!" She opened it and everyone saw her take out the flower ring with the rainbow jewel in the center. Hanon looked amazed at it as Lucia said, "Thank you Attis, it's so beautiful! Where did you get it?"

"Actually, Mogie made it." Attis replied, surprising everyone there, "I just gathered the materials, and Mogie crafted it. It's something that the Moogles know how to do called Item Synthesis. Also that ring has a few special properties Lucia, mainly that it'll make you resistant to spells cast by the magic casting Heartless, and that if Hanon and Rina, or anyone else you care about is standing beside you, the ring's protective powers will be extended to them as well. Just remember that the ring's power doesn't go that far, probably up to the size of the Live Stage, I guess."

That's when Attis got up and said, "I really need to get home now, so I'll see everyone later." Then he called to Mogie saying, "Oi Mogie, we're leaving now!"

Mogie finished talking with Hippo and flew towards Attis saying, "Alright kupo!" Then he turned to Hippo saying, "We'll talk later kupo!"

"Of course, how about tomorrow?" Hippo asked. Mogie replied, "That sounds good! Is that alright with you Attis kupo?"

Attis replied, "Hey, you have your own life Mogie. You don't need to ask me something like that. All I can say is that you stay hidden when you travel, maybe you can make something that turns you invisible or something."

"…Thanks kupo." Mogie said as he went back into the back. Then Attis went over to the entrance, with everyone behind him walking him out. He turned around at the door and said, "I'll see everyone later." Then he opened the door and left Pearl Piari with a nod.

When he was gone, Nikora said, "I can see why Aqua Regina holds him in high regard. He's a nice person, but I have a feeling he's not telling us everything."

"Maybe that's because he can't right now." Taki said, surprising everyone, "I mean, he can't even recall the battle that happened ten years ago, so it's not surprising that he can't tell us everything just yet."

There was a moment of silence before Nikora said, "Okay everyone, let's get back to work! I need your help in sprucing up Pearl Piari." The three girls groaned a bit as Nikora sent them off to work.

* * *

_Gaito's castle_

Gaito was sitting on his throne, thinking to himself about the past events that happened back at the North Pacific Palace. Aqua Regina suddenly appearing was a major setback, but what intrigued him most was Mayluna, who was able to command the Heartless effortlessly. He wondered how he could get in touch with her when Maria rushed into the throne room.

Seeing her running up to him in a hurry, he wondered what was wrong and asked, "Oh, is something the matter Maria?"

"Gaito-sama, there's someone here to see you. It's that woman in brown from the North Pacific Palace!" Maria told him, sounding concerned. Gaito raised an eyebrow at that and said, "Oh? That's interesting, send her in."

As if on cue, Mayluna came in through the door, escorted by Izuru, Eriru, and Yuri, who looked a bit miffed at Mayluna's presence. She still had her hood over her head, though her mouth was still visible. When they reached the foot of the steps, Mayluna bowed and said, "It's quite the honor to be in your presence, Lord Gaito."

Gaito couldn't help but smirk at that as he said to the Dark Lovers, "Everyone leave the room. I want to talk to this person in private." The Dark Lovers seemed a bit hesitant at first, but they obeyed that order and left the throne room. Now that they were alone, Gaito turned his attention to Mayluna and said, "Well then, what does someone who can control the Heartless want with me?"

Mayluna smiled and said, "First off, let me introduce myself to you Lord Gaito. I'm Mayluna, a traveler of worlds, I suppose. I came here to propose that we work together for a while…"

"Oh, this sounds interesting…why don't you tell me more." Gaito said with interest. As they talked, Sara was hiding behind a pillar overhearing everything, and thought, 'That person, I don't trust her…' However, she stayed to listen when Mayluna explained to Gaito the relation between the Mermaid Princesses and Kingdom Hearts. She felt in her heart that there was definitely going to be trouble in the future.


	15. Tutors and Exams

Chapter 15 – Tutors and Exams

Things seemed to calm down a few days later, after the whole confrontation between Attis and the mermaids, though there was an incident concerning Kaito visiting his parents' graves. From what he had heard, Maria had somehow captured Kaito and had held him in a hostage situation. Eventually Lucia, Hanon, and Rina managed to beat Maria and get Kaito back safely without him knowing.

There was one thing that had bothered Attis though. The three of them told him that after they sang, no Heartless showed up soon afterwards to attack. Though he considered it lucky since he wasn't there, Attis knew that even when beaten back, that wouldn't stop Mayluna from sending Heartless after them. He feared that she was up to something really bad, and that worried him for a while.

The days passed, and the 'vacation' Attis was having started to bore him. Even going through a few walks around the area didn't yield any results; he couldn't find a single Heartless anywhere. This compounded on the worry that Mayluna was planning something, and Attis started to get anxious as the days passed.

One day, Attis was wandering through the area again, when he passed by a middle school, one he recognized as the one that Kaito and the Mermaid Princesses attended, due to the uniforms of the students that were coming out. He was about to walk past it, when he saw Lucia, Hanon, and Rina walk out the gate, with Lucia looking really down. Wondering what was going on, he walked up to them saying, "Hey girls, is something the matter?"

Lucia looked up, and when she saw Attis, she bowed her head again sighing, "Oh hi Attis…" Her depressed tone made Attis wonder a bit, so he turned to Hanon and Rina asking, "Did something happen to Lucia? Or did Kaito say something again?"

"Oh, it's nothing like that," Hanon told him, "It's just that Lucia's having trouble with her classes again, now that the exams are near." Then Rina added, "She's on the verge of failing her exam, and if she does, she's going to summer school."

"…Which means, Lucia won't have a summer vacation involving Kaito, right?" Attis asked with a guess. Lucia gave another sigh and said with dread in her voice, "What am I going to do? I won't be able to pass my exam…"

Attis thought about it for a moment before he said, "You know if you want, I can help tutor you Lucia…"

The three of them looked at Attis, though Hanon and Rina had slightly skeptical looks on their faces as Lucia said, "Really?! You'll help me study Attis?" Attis gave her a nod and replied, "I can't guarantee anything, but I'll try my best to help."

A sigh of relief came over Lucia as she said, "Thank you very much Attis!" With that, Lucia led the way back to Pearl Piari, with Attis, Hanon, and Rina behind her. That's when Attis managed to hear Hanon whisper, "Do you think Attis can help Lucia, Rina?"

"It'd be a miracle if he actually could…" Attis heard Rina whisper back. He wondered why they were so skeptical about it as they walked towards Pearl Piari.

* * *

_Pearl Piari – Lucia's room_

Attis found out that tutoring Lucia was harder than he thought. They barely managed to get anywhere after the first half-hour, with Lucia starting to give up when she couldn't figure out most of the formulas anymore. She shouted in frustration, "Ah, I don't understand any of these!"

Rubbing his head, Attis told her, "Don't worry about it Lucia; let's try going through it step by step again." Sitting on the bed, Rina couldn't help but commend Attis for trying hard to teach Lucia, while Hanon was on the bed too, busy reading a magazine about the summer hotspots around the city. All of a sudden, Hanon said, "Ah, this spot is just perfect!"

In a heartbeat, Lucia was out of her seat and over by Hanon's side, looking at the magazine too saying, "Eh? Where, where?" Hanon pointed to a page and asked, "Right here, isn't that the perfect spot for a summer getaway?"

As Lucia and Hanon went on, Attis couldn't help but look on in disbelief as Rina went up to him and said, "Well, at least you tried Attis." Then he turned to her and asked, "Is she usually like this when it comes to schoolwork?"

"Yeah, mostly…" Rina replied, and that's when Hippo suddenly came in with a duster and pretended to clean. The he got Lucia in the face with the duster, making her cough and shout, "What are you doing Hippo?!" Attis and Rina looked around after hearing Lucia shout, and saw Hippo scolding her again.

"You're going to end up in summer school if you don't keep studying Lucia-san!" Hippo scolded, "Attis-san even came over to help you study and here you are just fooling around!" That made Lucia feel guilty as she turned to Attis and said, "I'm sorry Attis, you came over to help me, yet…"

A sigh came from Attis as he said, "It's okay Lucia, but I think you just need some motivation in this." He thought about it for a moment, with everyone in the room looking curious. Then he asked, "Do you have something to look forward to when it's summer vacation Lucia?"

In an instant, Lucia replied, "Going on dates with Kaito!" This made Hippo angry, but Attis gave the penguin a glare that kept him silent. Then Attis told her, "Then use that as a reason to study Lucia, 'cause if you fail, then those dates will become nothing more than dreams as you work your way through summer school. If that's not enough, then there will be other girls chasing after Kaito while you're stuck in summer school, and you'll be unable to do anything about it."

Attis made it sound slightly horrifying, but it sparked something within Lucia. It made her quickly go back to her desk and she went back to studying saying, "I need to work now, or else!"

The change in Lucia surprised Hanon and Rina, as well as Hippo, though he was still slightly angry but his surprise kept him quiet. As time passed, Attis continued to look over her work for a while, and saw that she was doing just fine. This made him think, 'I guess I did all I can…'

Attis put his hand on Lucia's shoulder saying, "It looks like you're doing just fine with the right motivation, so I'll see you later. Call me if you need anything; I'll leave my number at the front desk."

Lucia gave a nod, and Attis turned to leave, seeing that Hanon, Rina, and Hippo were long gone from Lucia's room. While walking down the hallway, Attis passed by a room where he heard voices that he recognized as Hanon and Rina's. Deciding not to stick around any longer, Attis left Pearl Piari, but not forgetting to leave his phone number and cell number.

Outside, as Attis walked away, he thought to himself, 'Will Lucia be able to keep up the pace? I wonder about that…'

* * *

_Attis' Apartment_

When Attis got home, Mogie greeted him in the usual fashion before Attis settled in. As he prepared dinner, Attis asked, "Did anything happen while I was gone Mogie?" Then the usual reply came from the Moogle, "Nope, everything's the same as usual kupo!"

A sigh came from Attis as he said, "Aw man, this is starting to bug me! There's no work for me to do, and the Heartless have vanished from the city!"

That statement made Mogie look up and ask, "There's no Heartless in the city kupo?" Attis nodded and said, "Mayluna must be planning her next move or something…"

Mogie shivered at the sound Mayluna's name and said, "M-Mayluna kupo? You don't mean the Dark Temptress, do you kupo?"

A smirk was heard from the kitchen where Attis was making dinner as he replied, "The one and only Mogie."

The Moogle started to shiver in fear as he said, "K-kupo! This world is in trouble, if the Dark Temptress is commanding the Heartless kupo!" That's when a sound plates being put on the table was heard, and Mogie turned around to see that Attis was putting two plates of fried rice with egg and ham on the table.

Seeing the food on the table, Mogie instantly flew over to the dinner table with Attis telling the Moogle, "Don't worry about a thing Mogie. I saw Mayluna a few days ago, and I managed to give her quite the beating. She won't be bothering anyone for a while, I think…"

"Wow, thank goodness for that kupo!" Mogie said as he started eating. After a few bite, the Moogle said, "As expected of Deathseeker Hale, you show no mercy kupo!"

Attis frowned at the title and said after a bite, "You won't be able to stop calling me that, will you Mogie?" Mogie seemed to shake a bit as he said, "I'm sorry Attis kupo. I didn't mean anything bad by it, it's jus that you're quite respected among us Moogles kupo, for what you did and risked for us Moogles."

There was a moment of silence, as Attis knew what Mogie was talking about. Back in the past, Attis saved various Moogles being chased by Heartless on a few of his solo missions. What made them noteworthy was that Attis was up against nearly impossible odds, and the Moogle that was being chased had nearly zero chance of escaping the Heartless. Despite that, Attis rescued them, thanks to the mindset he had back then.

After finishing dinner, he left Mogie to do the dishes as he went into the spare room to check up on Aine. Seeing the girl sleeping peacefully made Attis think, 'I wonder, are you the true wielder of Aqualis? That Keyblade feels natural for me to use, but deep down, I can't help but feel that something's off…'

Attis pressed his hand to the capsule while looking like he was in deep thought. Then he left the room and watched T.V. with Mogie, flipping through channels, through there wasn't much to watch. Then he heard a door open and close from next door and thought, 'Looks like Rina just got home. Wonder if Lucia's still going at it…'

Soon it was getting late, and Attis decided to go to bed for the night. When he put the Red shell necklace on the bedside table, he couldn't help but think, 'Maybe the Red Pearl belongs to Aine too…' That was his last thought before he fell asleep.

* * *

_Shopping mall_

The next day, Attis was busy going through a shopping mall looking for certain items that Mogie had requested. At first, Mogie explained that the items were for a synthesis recipe that Attis had asked the Moogle to make prior to the events at the North Pacific Palace. Back then Mogie argued that the items that Attis requested were impossible to make without a certain item, but now Mogie told him that he was going to use a substitute to see if he could make the items that Attis requested.

So now, Attis was going through the mall, looking for jewelry shops that sold real pearls. Walking through the mall, Attis couldn't help but think, 'Maybe it was better for me to look in the ocean instead; sure it would've been more work, but at least it wouldn't cost anything…'

Suddenly, he felt the Red Pearl pulse from it's necklace inside his pocket. He took it out and saw that it was glowing slightly, and it made him think, 'What's going on? Is someone in trouble? Oh no, then that could mean…!'

As if it was answering him, Attis felt the power of the Red Pearl leading him as he ran, and when he reached the exit he saw that there was a downpour outside. He quickly changed into his black cloak discreetly and threw the hood over his head as he ran into the rain.

* * *

_Riverside_

By the time Attis reached the place that the Red Pearl's power led him, he saw the three Mermaid Princesses in their idol forms finish singing Super Love Songs. He noticed that the rain had stopped and that their opponent was none other than Eriru, who vanished from being beaten by the song. This made Attis wonder, 'Hmm, maybe I'm not needed here, it looks like they have everything under control…'

Again, luck didn't seem to be on Attis' side as a pair of Defenders appeared, one at each end, surprising the Mermaid Princesses. The dog in Rina's arms started barking at the Heartless, but one of the Defender's shields gave a much louder bark, scaring the dog and making it hide in Rina's arms. Meanwhile, Hanon saw the emblem on one of the Defenders and said, "Ew, these things are Heartless?! They're not pleasing to the eye, that's for sure…"

"Since when are they pleasing to the eye?" Rina asked her, just as one of the Defenders that they were facing fired of a Fire spell from it's shield in their direction, forcing them to duck for cover as the spell few overhead. Lucia shouted, "Where's Attis?!"

"I don't see him around!" Rina shouted, "I think we'll need to stall them until he arrives!"

Suddenly, Aqualis came spinning and it got one of the Defenders right in head, making it fall to the ground as Aqualis spun around like a boomerang. At the same time Attis shouted, "That won't be necessary Rina!" Then Attis caught Aqualis with one hand as he slid down to where the Mermaid Princesses were standing. This made Hanon ask, "Where were you Attis?"

"Sorry, a few Dire Plants managed to sneak up on me somehow, so I had deal with them." Then he looked at the two Defenders and said, "Looks like Mayluna's pulling out the big guns quite early…"

"Should we help Attis?" Rina asked. Attis gave a nod and replied, "Yes…Defenders are some of the stronger Heartless, and most of my abilities are still sealed." Then the Defender still standing fired off another Fire spell, and Attis blocked it, though from the strength of the spell made him wonder if it was actually a Fira spell. He said, "I'll definitely need help with this one."

Lucia seemed ready to go as she said, "Here we go then!" Then the three of them shouted, "Pichi Pichi Voice Live Start!" At the same time Attis went after the standing Defender as the other one got up, then the girls started singing Super Love Songs from the beginning again.

As expected, the song was starting to affect the two Defenders a bit, lowering their fighting capabilities. Attis used the usual tactic of attacking them from their backsides with strikes and spells as the Defenders tried to fight back. Overall it was a difficult battle thanks to the song, though Attis nearly got bitten by the Defenders' shields a couple of times, and got bashed around a few times too.

Lucia, Hanon, and Rina had to sing the full version of the song before Attis could take down both Defenders. By the time he did, he heard them ask, "How about an encore?" Attis couldn't help but laugh a bit as he played along saying, "No thanks ladies, I think that wraps things up, I hope."

No more Heartless showed up as the three Mermaid Princesses reverted back to their human forms. Suddenly, Lucia shouted, "Ah, Kaito!" and she ran before anyone could say anything. Attis walked up to Hanon and Rina asking, "What's with Lucia?"

"She has a study date with Kaito right now." Hanon simply replied. Attis looked a bit dumbstruck for a moment before he asked, "Is that alright? I mean, she won't be distracted right?"

"Let's hope not, because we put in quite the effort to set this up!" Hanon told him. Attis looked at Rina, who just shrugged, and he whispered, "I'll never understand girls…"

Suddenly a thought came to Attis as he asked, "By the way Hanon, Rina, do you know a place where I can find pearls around here?" Hanon and Rina looked at each other before Rina said, "There are a bunch of oysters living near the lighthouse. I heard that the oysters have been living in that area of the ocean for quite a while, so there's bound to be some. Why, do you need pearls?"

"Yeah…you see, Mogie needs some for something he's making, and I don't know where exactly to look. Thanks for the info." Attis was about to leave when Hanon suddenly asked, "Attis, how about we come with you?"

"…I don't mind. I could use the help actually." Attis replied. Then Hanon turned to Rina and asked, "You coming Rina?"

Rina nodded in reply, "Sure, just let me take care of this little guy first." She held up the little dog in her arms and Attis gave a nod as she ran off. Attis and Hanon waited for Rina, and when she came back she said, "Okay, let's get going."

The three of them walked towards the beach, though Attis noticed that Rina had a slightly somber look on her face. He didn't question it, as he had figured that she had her own problems going through her head.

* * *

_Attis' Apartment_

"Oh, you got ten of them kupo!" Mogie said as Attis held out the pouch that held the pearls that he had gathered with Hanon and Rina. Attis said, "Yeah, I couldn't remember how many you actually needed, but I know that it was under ten, that's for sure."

Mogie took the pearls from Attis and he said, "Thank you very much kupo!" Then the Moogle went over to his room to start working, and a 'Do not disturb sign appeared on the handle as the door closed. It made Attis say, "There he goes, though I do hope that he'll succeed, since those items will help all the Mermaid Princesses…"

Attis went out for dinner, though he brought back a little something for Mogie to eat. Then he went down to the soundproof room to practice his guitar for a while, mostly as a stress reliever. It was interesting to say, since the Red Pearl reacted for a bit, and Attis ended up playing the guitar part of Star Jewel at one point, when the pearl started emitting the other parts of the music. He lost track of time while playing and when by the time he got out, it was quite late.

When he got back to his apartment, Attis found things to be quiet, and the food he brought for Mogie was gone too. He figured that the Moogle had gone to sleep already, and decided to crash for the night too, though he did hear Aine's faint giggling again. This made him think, 'Guess Aine finds Mogie's work interesting or something…'

* * *

_Dreamstate_

Attis was in his black cloak, standing at the front of a mermaid army, looking at all the Pureblood Heartless that were amassed in front of them. Aqua Regina was beside him, and the seven Mermaid Princesses were behind the two also. Attis said, "This isn't good, it looks like the water demons have attracted the Heartless…"

Aqua Regina was silent, as the mermaids armed with their spears looked nervous at the Heartless horde that was in front of them. The Mermaid Princesses were in their idol forms, and from what Attis saw, the youngest ones were the Yellow and Orange Mermaid Princesses, who were nine and thirteen years old respectively. He couldn't help but think, 'They're too young to be fighting, thought I'm one to talk, since I did start when I was ten.'

The Heartless looked restless, as they seem to be held back for some reason. Attis summoned both Solaris and Lunaria saying, "I'll make an opening, and everyone else follows after. Does that sound good?"

"What? That's sounds way too reckless!" Aqua Regina said with worry. Attis smiled and gave her a wink saying, "Don't worry about me Aqua Regina; I know what I'm doing."

Before Aqua Regina could say anything, Attis ran forward towards the Heartless horde much to the surprise of the mermaids and Mermaid Princesses. Then Attis jumped high over the Heartless and pointed both Keyblades at them shouting, "Ultima!"

There was a massive explosion that made everyone cover their eyes, and when the light and dust cleared, everyone saw a large amount black mist appear and dissipate a few seconds later. There was also a small crater where Attis was standing in the middle of, looking unfazed. The Heartless instantly went on the attack at the sight of him, and Attis fought back shouting, "What are you waiting for ladies?"

Aqua Regina seemed to come to her senses as she pointed her staff towards the Heartless and shouted, "Everyone, please help Attis!" All of the armed mermaids rushed forward to attack the Heartless as the seven Mermaid Princesses started singing Kodou ~Perfect Harmony~.

Suddenly, the scene changed, and Attis found himself back on top of the pillar that had had Aqua Regina and the Mermaid Princesses' image on the floor. In front of him Aine was standing in front of him, but she looked like she was looking at a screen that had what Attis recognized as the memory he was just in. Attis heard Aine say, "Wow, Onii-chan's quite reckless, though he was so strong back then, so I guess it's okay…"

"I only act like that when it's necessary Aine…" Attis said, spooking the daylights out of the girl. The screen vanished as she looked around to see Attis staring at her. She got a bit nervous as she said, "Oh, i-it's just you Onii-chan. Don't scare me like that!"

"You know, poking through others' memories without permission isn't very nice you know." Attis told her. Aine pouted as she said, "But it's so boring being stuck in that capsule just sleeping and watching Mogie make stuff like a ghost. I just wanted to know a bit more about you Onii-chan…"

Attis gave a sigh and said, "…Just tell me if you wanted to know more about me. I wouldn't have minded telling you a few things you know."

Aine looked happy at that and asked, "Then, could you tell me a bit more about yourself? I went through some of your other memories, but I didn't understand most of what was going on." Attis winced at that as he said, "Ha, fine then, what do you want to know?"

Attis spent most of the time telling Aine stories about his past missions that he remembered, and about the people he knew from the Keypers. When Attis woke up the next morning, he couldn't feel mentally tired, and thanked that he didn't have to work as he fell back asleep.


	16. Restaurant Management

Chapter 16 – Restaurant Management

_Maki's restaurant_

A few days before the summer vacation season in Japan started; Maki had called Attis, asking him to come by for something important. With that, Attis made his way to the restaurant, and when he got there, he was surprised to see Kaito and Lucia there too. By the looks of things, he walked in just as a discussion finished. When Attis approached he asked, "Something happen Maki-san?"

"Ah Attis, you're here. Good, I need to tell you something." Maki said as Attis walked up to them. He joked, "Oh no, you're not firing me, are you?"

Maki couldn't help but laugh a bit at that as he said, "No, no, actually I called you here to tell you that we're reopening in a few days." Attis raised an eyebrow at that and said, "That's great, though I doubt that you called me here personally just to tell me that."

"You're right," Maki said, "Actually, I need to tell you that the others won't be able to make it to work for the reopening, "Attis felt like he deflated a bit at the news as he asked, "Okay…so is there any good news to any of this? I know I can handle a heavy load, but being the only waiter is a bit too much."

Maki nodded and replied, "Actually, there is. Kaito-kun and Lucia-chan have offered their help, along with their friends, for a few days after the opening." This surprised Attis as he turned to the two in question and asked, "This alright with you Kaito?"

Kaito nodded and replied, "This place is like a home away from home for me and the guys. We'll be more than glad to help."

Attis was satisfied with that answer, so he turned to Lucia asking, "What about you Lucia? I'm guessing that you're going to ask Hanon and Rina for help?"

Lucia nodded too and replied, "This place feels special, and I want to help out too!"

To Attis, that sounded a bit off for some reason, but he just nodded and said, "Well then, it looks like we'll be working together for a bit" He and Kaito shook hands, and he did the same with Lucia before he said, "I guess I'll see you all in a few days then. Is that all Maki-san?"

"Yeah, that's all for now." Maki told him. Attis gave a nod and he left the restaurant to head back to his apartment. He thought, 'Mermaid Princesses acting as waitresses, wonder what's next?'

* * *

_Maki's restaurant – opening day_

Attis was the first one there, and to his surprise, Maki put him in charge of co-ordination of the servers, as Maki would be busy in the kitchens. Then Kaito and his friends came in and were given duties to help in the kitchen while Kaito manned the bar. Then Lucia, Hanon, and Rina came in last and were given waitress duties, with Hanon and Rina slightly surprised to see Attis, but that was cleared up after explaining that he actually worked there.

When the three Mermaid Princesses were given waitress duties, Attis saw that Hanon and Rina were less than enthusiastic about it; heck, they didn't even know about it at first, thinking they were only customers until Lucia explained it to them. He gave a sigh and went over to them asking, "You girls alright?"

Hanon gave a sigh too and replied, "Yes, though this isn't how I was expecting to start off my summer vacation." Attis could see the disappointment in Hanon's face, though that quickly faded after Maki told them that he would give everyone except Attis prime seats for the fireworks show that was going to happen at the festival in a few days. Lucia got excited at that too, as Rina put up with her friends' antics as usual.

Soon, the restaurant opened, and things got busy pretty quickly. Maki found himself tied up in the kitchen more than he thought, and Attis had to switch between waiter duties and helping Kaito manage the bar every so often. Although, from Attis' view, Kaito seemed to be managing the bar quite well, and has even attracted a number of female customers. Attis did too, but due to being so busy, he managed to shake them off faster in order to be able to continue working. That's when he noticed that Lucia was giving jealous looks towards Kaito and the girls, and it made him think, 'Uh oh, this isn't good…'

True enough, Lucia tried something that Attis couldn't make out, but Kaito gave Lucia the next order, and it looked like he brushed her off. Attis knew it couldn't be helped since it was very busy, but Lucia seemed to take it personally and it affected her performance greatly. This made Attis head over to Lucia with a quick step, since he wasn't wearing rollerblades like the girls were, and hoped that he could talk to her before anything happened.

As luck would have it, Lucia got distracted for a second, and that made her slip and fall, with the tray of food she had flying out of her hands. Attis quickly reacted to that and managed to catch the tray with it's contents intact, earning an applause from the customers.

Meanwhile, Attis helped Lucia up with one hand, since the tray was in his other hand, and asked, "You okay Lucia?"

"Yes, thank you Attis." Lucia replied as Attis pulled her up off the floor. Kaito, Hanon, and Rina had rushed over due to the commotion looking concerned, and that's when Attis asked, "Kaito, where does this order go?"

Kaito pointed to a table and told him, "Over there Attis." Attis gave a nod and brought the food over to the table of customers and joked, "Sorry for the delay, and for the fact that your meals were shaken up a bit."

Some of the customers laughed at that as Attis put the food on the table and walked off back to where Lucia was standing. When he got there, he was just in time to hear Kaito telling Lucia to go home if she couldn't take the work seriously.

When Kaito walked away, Attis went up to her and saw that Hanon and Rina were still standing nearby, giving disapproving looks at how the situation was handled. He looked over to them and said, "Hanon, Rina, could you please get back to work? I need to talk to Lucia for a bit."

Seeing the reassuring look on Attis' face that said that he'll take care of it, Hanon and Rina went back to work, while Attis walked over towards Lucia and gave her a tap on the shoulder. When Lucia turned towards him, Attis saw that she looked upset, but she was trying hard to hide it. That made him sigh and ask, "Lucia, could you come with me for a bit? I need to talk to you about something."

Lucia got nervous all of a sudden, but Attis assured her, "Don't worry, it's nothing serious, I just want to ask you a few questions." That seemed to calm her down a bit, and Attis led the way to the staff room with Lucia in tow. Kaito noticed this and wondered what was going on, but the increase in customers kept him busy, taking up most of his attention.

* * *

_Maki's restaurant – staff room_

When Attis and Lucia were in the room, the first thing Attis asked was, "Okay, I need to get straight to the point since we're so busy. Are you upset that those girls at the bar are flirting with Kaito?"

Lucia was taken by surprise at that and said, "How do you know?!" Attis smirked and said, "Remember Lucia, I told you that I was trained to be observant, though I do slip from time to time." Then he pinched the bridge of his nose and asked again, "So, are you upset or not?"

"…Yes I am!" Lucia replied, "Kaito's flirting and talking with those girls, and he doesn't even care what happens to me!" Attis rubbed his forehead at that and he told her, "Okay, I'd admit Kaito was a bit harsh when you tripped, but I assure you that Kaito wasn't flirting with those girls intentionally."

"But-!" Lucia started, but Attis held his hand out and said, "Let me finish please. Kaito has to be nice and talk to those girls because they're customers. He can't just turn the cold shoulder every time a girl talks to him; it would be bad for business if we treated the customers poorly. Rina even handled that case with those college boys well enough, though she was a bit too cold in my opinion.

Lucia was trying to understand what Attis was telling her, and to seal the deal, Attis said, "I can assure you, Kaito won't have a girlfriend by the end of today. If that was the case, then I would have a girlfriend every week. You don't see that happening now do you?"

Lucia giggled at that and said, "No, I don't." Attis gave a nod and said, "Kaito can handle himself just fine. What you need to do is focus and get back to work, alright?"

"Yes, I'll do my best!" Lucia shouted with confidence. Then she left the staff room, passing by Maki who was just coming in for a quick break. Seeing Lucia just leave, and Attis standing at the middle of the room, he asked, "Was there a problem Attis?"

"Yeah, but it was resolved already." Attis told him. Then he walked out the door saying, "I'd better get back to work, right Maki-san?"

"Erm, right…" Maki answered, watching Attis leave the staff room. He couldn't help but think, 'He's quite the individual for someone so young…'

The rest of the day went off without many problems, and both Hanon and Rina were relieved to see that Lucia had returned to her old self, making them wonder what Attis said to her. After work was done, Attis stayed behind to clean up, since Mogie was staying over at Pearl Piari for a few days. With that both Attis and Maki left the restaurant last, and Attis headed back to his apartment after grabbing a quick dinner.

Feeling exhausted, Attis quickly got ready for bed and fell asleep quicker than usual. Though just before he fell asleep, he thought he heard Rina singing Star Jewel. He figured that it was just his imagination however and nodded off.

* * *

_Apartments_

The next morning, Attis left his apartment fully dressed, and he saw Rina getting out of her place at the same time. So he called over to her saying, "Hey Rina, ready for another day?"

It took a moment for Rina to reply, and when she turned around; Attis saw that her face was a bit red. Despite that she managed to say, "Yeah, sure…"

Attis wondered if Rina was alright, since she sounded a bit off in her response. They started walking down the stairs when he asked, "Are you alright Rina? Your face's a bit red there…" Rina shook him off saying, "I'm fine Attis."

From Rina's tone, Attis could tell that she was hiding something, and from the tiny sneeze that Rina made, Attis figured that she was sick somehow. However he couldn't tell for sure that she was sick, and he hoped that Rina would be alright and not suddenly collapse in the middle of the work day. With that he decided to keep an eye on her just in case something happens.

* * *

_Maki's restaurant_

The day started off without problems, and the restaurant got busy again quickly. Everything was running smoothly, though Attis noticed that Rina showed signs of weakness every now and again, though she managed to hide it very well from the customers. Kaito seemed to notice too and tried to see for himself when she passed by. Like she did with Attis, only a bit rougher, she brushed Kaito off and left the bar to continue working, just as Attis himself went up to the bar to check on things.

Kaito saw Attis approaching and asked, "Hey Attis, does Rina look a bit sick to you?" That made Attis remember what happened earlier this morning as he replied, "Yeah, she does a bit. I asked her about it this morning, but she told me that she was fine. I could tell that she was hiding it though…"

"Yeah, she did the same thing when I asked her, but when I grabbed her hand, I felt that she was burning up." Kaito told him.

"That's not good…" Attis said. That's when they heard Rina shout, "Please let me go!"

Looking towards the source, Attis and Kaito saw the same group collage boys that tried to make a pass at Rina yesterday at the entrance of the restaurant. One of them was holding Rina by the wrist, and she was trying to get him to let go of her. The scene was starting to attract attention both Attis and Kaito looked at each other with a nod before heading over.

Kaito acted first by grabbing and twisting the guy's other arm, making him let go of Rina. At the same time he said, "Sir, that's enough of your jokes please." As Kaito and Attis confronted the college boys, Rina had fallen back a bit, so that there was some distance between her and the confrontation as she watched.

The guy that Kaito grabbed tried to make a retort as Kaito let go, but Maki and Kaito's friends appeared from the side and Maki said, "Sorry, we're at full capacity, so there's no more room for you punks!"

From the tone of Maki's voice, everyone could tell that he wasn't happy about the situation. No else was either as Attis eyed the guys carefully.

"Who would-?!" The guy started to say, but he suddenly froze when Attis gave him a very cold stare. The two guys beside him shivered at that as Attis said in a cold, emotionless voice, "Sir, please don't make a scene and just leave, or else I'll have to 'escort' all of you off the premises." Everyone shivered at the cold tone of Attis' voice, even Rina, and they were quite surprised, since Attis never spoke like that for as long as they knew him. The guy looked scared for a second before he made a quick motion to his friends and they left the restaurant.

After they left, Attis' expression turned back to normal as Kaito couldn't help but say, "Wow, that was quite scary Attis." Attis rubbed the back of his head as he apologized, "Sorry about that Kaito, everyone. I didn't mean to act like that." That's when he noticed that the customers in the restaurant were uneasy too, so he addressed them, "Sorry about that everyone, and as a token of my apology, a free drink for everyone here!"

All of the customers seemed happy about that and Attis told Maki, "You can take it out of my paycheck Maki-san." Maki gave a nod as everyone went back to work, with Attis serving everyone their free drink. Though as he worked, Attis couldn't help but notice that Rina started to act a bit weird and she suddenly ran towards the staff room, making him think, 'Maybe I should check to see if she needs to go home…'

Kaito beat him to it though when Attis approached the bar. He asked, "Attis, could you man the bar for a bit?"

"Going to check on Rina?" Attis guessed. A nod came from Kaito as he left saying, "Thanks Attis!"

Attis took position behind the bar and started taking and giving out orders, as well as keeping tabs on Lucia and Hanon, since their work load just increased. He couldn't help but think, 'This kinda feels like yesterday, just one thing happening after another huh…'

Soon Kaito came back out, and when he came back around the bar, he told Attis, "Rina wants to talk to you Attis." Attis nodded and the two of them switched places as he walked away towards the staff room.

* * *

_Maki's restaurant – staff room_

When Attis reached the staff room, he saw that Rina was already dressed and ready to go home. Entering the room, Attis asked, "Going home Rina?"

"…Yeah." Rina replied, sounding a bit subdued. When Attis saw that Rina's face was still red, he couldn't help but joke, "Wow, you look like you just came out of an intense make-out session with Kaito or something."

For some reason, Rina's face flushed even redder and she was speechless. Attis saw that and he went on to say, "Whoa, you're serious? I was just joking you know; wonder what would happen if something like that reached Lucia's ears…"

That's when Rina shouted, "Y-you idiot! Nothing like that ever happened! All that happened was a talk and that's it!"

Attis couldn't help but laugh and say, "I'm just kidding with you Rina." Then he stopped laughing and said, "Seriously, you're going home because you're sick right? It's gotten to the point where you can't focus properly on work, am I right?"

"Please don't tell Lucia or Hanon," Rina asked him, "I don't want to worry the over something like this."

"Hm, it's fine by me." Attis told her, "But let me help you out a bit before you leave."

Making sure that the door was locked, Attis materialized Aqualis in his hand, making Rina sneeze and ask, "Aqualis? How will the Keyblade help me?"

Attis just said, "Just watch please. I'm not sure if it'll help but…" Then he pointed Aqualis towards Rina, surprising her. Before she could react Attis said, "Cure." and a wave energy came over Rina, making her feel a bit refreshed, with some of the redness in her face cleared up.

Rina was surprised that she felt better, though she still felt a bit sick. Aqualis vanished from Attis' hand as he said, "That should keep you going until you reach your apartment." She nodded saying, "Yeah, thank you Attis."

"It's no problem Rina." Attis said as he turned around to go back to work. When he reached the door however, he stopped and looked over to Rina saying, "You know, that blush of yours makes you look cute Rina."

Rina turned another shade of red at that as Attis smirked and left the room. Heading back to work he thought, 'Now, what do I say to Lucia and Hanon? Or did Kaito take care of that already?'

* * *

_Dreamstate_

Later that night, Attis had a weird dream. He was back on the platform, but this time, something looked different. Where the pictures of each Mermaid Princess surrounding Aqua Regina were, there was a cage that looked like a bird cage floating above each picture. Four of them were covered by a cloth, but three of them he could see clearly, and to his shock, he saw Lucia, Hanon, and Rina in the cages that corresponded with their picture.

That's when he heard Aine's voice say, "What will you do if something like this happens, Onii-chan?"

Attis whipped around, but didn't see Aine around. All of a sudden there was a bright flash of light, and when Attis looked up, he saw Kingdom Hearts glowing overhead. Then seven lights erupted from the cages and shot up towards Kingdom Hearts, creating a bright flash that forced Attis to cover his eyes.

That woke Attis up from his sleep and made sit up straight and think, 'Ugh, what the heck was that?!'

* * *

_Beachside_

The next work day was surprisingly smooth for the most part. Except the part where Rina didn't come in to help, things ran smoothly in the restaurant. Soon it was closing time and Lucia and Hanon were let go early to get ready for the festival. Maki closed the place early too so that everyone could get out to enjoy the festival.

Now Attis was walking down the beach as his usual routine when he noticed Momo near the beach. He ran towards the dolphin and saw Lucia running too, so when they met in front of Momo Attis said, "Lucia, what's the matter?"

"I don't know." Lucia replied, while Momo tried to communicate something to the two and then Momo showed Rina's ring around its neck. Lucia recognized it saying, "This is…the ring that I gave to Rina."

Attis' eyes widened at that as Momo said something to Lucia that he couldn't make out. Lucia eyes seemed to widen a bit as she said, "What?! Izuru captured Rina? I have to go save her! Momo-chan, tell Hanon too!"

"I'm coming with you Lucia. I have a bad feeling about this, but if Rina's been captured than we'll just have to get her back." Attis told her. Lucia nodded and said, "Okay, let's go Attis!"

With that Lucia took the ring from Momo's neck and ran down the beach with Attis to a secluded place where no one could see them. Then Lucia jumped into the ocean, with Attis soon after, after he threw on his cloak.

* * *

_Island rock – fireworks platform_

Lucia and Attis were swimming together, and were getting close to the place where Momo had said Rina was being held. Lucia was calling out for Rina, while Attis was on the look out for any ambushes. Unfortunately they were caught as they got close to the island rock as jets of high pressured water came out from under them, surrounding the two and acting like cage bars.

On the island Attis and Lucia could see Izuru sitting there looking smug as she said, "You waltzed right in, Pink Pearl Mermaid Princess…and you brought along the Keyblade warrior too, totally unaware of my trap."

Attis cursed under his hood as Lucia asked where Rina was. Izuru replied, "I only found the Green Pearl Mermaid Princess' ring on the ground." She laughed a bit and said, "I'll take the two of you to Gaito-sama's castle just like that! Gaito-sama also has an interest in that Red Pearl that you have Keyblade warrior."

As Lucia tried to escape, Attis was trying to think of a way out of this when Rina's voice shouted, "Lucia, Attis! Are the two of you alright?"

"Rina, stay away!" Lucia shouted to Rina, while Attis thought, 'Rina? What's she doing here…wait, where's Hanon?'

Rina eventually got caught too, making Izuru laugh and say, "Now I have two Mermaid Princesses to bring to Gaito-sama." Suddenly Hanon's voice started singing Ever Blue and everyone saw that she was behind Izuru singing. The song started to hurt Izuru and the water cages dissipated, making Rina say, "Just as planned, let's go Lucia!"

"Right!" Lucia said, and the two transformed into their idol forms and landed to where Hanon was standing. Attis managed to pull himself up to the shore as the three idols started singing Super Love Songs. He thought, 'These are one of those times where I just feel useless sometimes.

As the song went on, the sun set and the fireworks started going off, which Attis found to be quite ironic. When the song finished with their signature, "Love Shower Pitch! How about an encore?" Izuru cursed the Mermaid Princesses and swam into the water. Attis just laid there, listening to the conversation and how Rina sounded extremely worried. That's when he heard her say, "Friends are a good thing to have."

"Hmm…I can agree with you there, I guess." Attis said that sounded out of tone. Lucia and Hanon jumped, forgetting that Attis was there since he was so quiet. That's when Attis noticed something in the water, but if vanished, making him wonder what it was. Then he said, "We'd better get going, or else we're going to miss the rest of the show, right girls?"

With that Attis jumped into the water and swam away before any of them could stop him. The three of them looked at each other and smiled as they followed Attis into the water, heading back to the site where the show was taking place.

* * *

_Beachside_

Attis was behind the girls when Kaito walked up to them looking worried. He watched as the scene went on and raised an eyebrow when Rina nearly punched him in the face but stopped herself, warning Kaito that she'll get him if he hurts Lucia. Kaito just brushed off by saying that Rina must still have her fever, but he sort of understood the message and he walked away with Lucia beside her.

That's when Attis just sat down at the sidewalk edge and watched the fireworks go off, until he heard Rina say, "Until Gaito is defeated, I don't have time for frivolous things like love." Attis smirked and couldn't help but say, "Yes, yes, we all know that you think koi fish are so frivolous. You don't have to keep saying that Rina."

Hanon giggled, while Rina looked steamed and bonked Attis on the head with her fist saying, "You know what I meant." Attis rubbed his head while Hanon kept on giggling. Then the three of them proceeded to watch the fireworks display together, feeling relaxed and calm.


	17. A Second Voice

Chapter 17 – A Second Voice

_Attis' apartment_

"So, you're going to this place called Saitama, right kupo?" Mogie asked. Attis was busy packing a duffel bag as he replied, "Yeah, Maki-san asked me to go over there to check up on his niece for him."

"…If you don't mind me asking kupo, but why did this Maki person ask you to do this kupo?" Mogie asked him. Attis finished packing the duffel bag when he replied, "Hmm, I don't know, but Maki-san did mention that his niece is around the same age as me…I honestly don't really know what he's thinking actually. He's just worried since she lives alone, from what I've heard from him."

"I see kupo…" Mogie said. Then the Moogle saw Aqualis lying on the ground beside a case that was the same size as the Keyblade and said, "So you're leaving Aqualis behind for the Mermaid Princesses while you're away kupo?"

"Yeah, though I was quite surprised that I can't summon or dematerialize it after it glowed." Attis replied, "It's like Aqua Regina granted my wish or something. Anyway I'm going to leave it with Rina for now, so I'll need you to look after it for me and to tell her where I'm going."

Mogie nodded and said, "Leave it to me kupo!" Attis then put the Keyblade within the case and closed it, making sure to put a note to Rina on it. Then he brought the bag and the case outside with Mogie on his shoulder. Attis knew that Rina would be at school right now, and hoped that she would drop by to pick it up.

Leaning the case on Rina's door, then putting Mogie on top, he whispered, "I'll see you in a few days Mogie."

"Bye kupo!" Mogie said as Attis left. He thought, 'Aqualis is one weird Keyblade, that's for sure…'

* * *

_Saitama – train station_

Attis got off the train and looked around, since the girl he was supposed to be meeting would be here at the train station. He thought, 'That girl, what was her name again? Asumi…something? Shoot, I forgot!'

That's when a voice said, "Um, excuse me? Are you Attis Hale?" Attis whipped around as he thought, 'That sounded like Lucia just now!'

When Attis looked, he saw a seventeen year old girl with shoulder length black hair and blue eyes, wearing a white blouse and jeans looking at him. For a second, Attis thought she was looking at a black-haired Lucia, but saw that they didn't look very much alike. He sighed and said, "Yes, that's me. I take it you're Asumi…ugh, sorry, I can't remember your last name."

Asumi smiled and said, "That's alright. My name is Asumi Nakata, and it's a pleasure to meet you Hale-san."

Attis couldn't help but notice that Asumi sounded just like Lucia, and figured that it was just a coincidence. Then he said, "It's my pleasure to meet you Nakata-san, and you can just call me Attis; everyone else I know does."

"Okay, then Attis-san. I don't mind if you call me Asumi, either. I'm not that fond of honorifics anyway." Asumi told him. Attis nodded before he asked, "Your uncle sent me here to check on you for some reason. Did something happen?"

That's when Asumi gave a sigh and said, "Oh man, Uncle Maki always does this. I take it that you work at his restaurant?"

"…Yeah…" Attis replied sheepishly. Asumi sighed and told him, "I'm sorry that my uncle put you through this. He sends someone on the pretense that they're checking up on me, when he's actually trying to set me up with someone."

That left Attis shocked as Asumi said, "I'm sorry that you came all this way without knowing anything Attis. Here, I'll let you stay at my home for a few days, so I won't make Uncle Maki suspicious."

Attis nodded and Asumi led the way back to her home. As they walked Attis thought, 'Wonder if the girls got the message yet?'

* * *

_Pearl Piari_

Lucia, Hanon, Rina, Nikora, Hippo, and Mogie were sitting around a table, with the case holding Aqualis in front of them. It was currently closed after everyone saw that it was indeed Aqualis inside the case. Mogie was sitting on it as Rina said while waving the note, "So Attis will be out of town for a few days, is that right?"

"Yes kupo. It couldn't be helped, since it was related to his work kupo." Mogie replied. Hanon put her finger to her head and said, "It's great that Attis left Aqualis so we can defend ourselves, but out of the three of us, who can actually use it like Attis can?"

There was a moment of silence before all heads turned to Rina, making her say, "W-what? Wait, you two aren't serious, are you?"

Lucia and Hanon looked at each other for a moment before Lucia said, "To be honest, I can see Rina holding Aqualis and defeating the Heartless really clearly." Hanon, Nikora, and Hippo nodded as an image of Rina bashing Shadows with Aqualis came to their minds. Rina tried to push the idea off her by saying, "But, Hanon and Lucia can use it too you know. I remember you using Aqualis to finish off that giant Heartless Hanon."

Suddenly Hippo freaked out at the mention of when Hanon struck the finishing blow on the Darkside with everyone's help. He shouted, "What was that?! Hanon-san was fighting Heartless?! When was this-?!"

That's when Mogie flew over and abruptly landed on Hippo, causing the two to fall from the chair and onto the floor. With Hippo and Mogie somehow unconscious, Nikora went over to bring the two to a nearby couch as Hanon said, "I only dealt the finishing blow Rina; it's not like I know how to fight."

When Nikora came back, she found the three girls in a pickle as the three of them looked at the case, wondering what to do. That's when she suggested, "Why don't you three take turns swinging Aqualis around? I'm sure Attis-san wanted you to try and practice with it."

The idea seemed to click with the Mermaid Princesses, so the three of them got up, with Rina carrying the case. Then they followed Nikora out to the beach beside the hotel, where there was enough space to practice.

Then they started taking turns swinging Aqualis around, with Lucia going first. She managed to start off pretty well, and she managed to mimic some of the moves Attis uses. Somehow along the line however, she managed to hit her head with Aqualis after an odd swing, making her drop the Keyblade and say, "Oww…" Hanon, Rina, and Nikora couldn't help but snicker a bit as Lucia rubbed the spot where she hit herself.

Next was Hanon, who also managed to get into the rhythm pretty quick, though her technique was just a tiny bit shoddy as she also tried mimicking some of Attis' moves. That's when an idea came to her head and she suddenly threw Aqualis towards the ocean, making it spin like the way Attis did when he throws it. Since Hanon was mimicking the Strike Raid ability without knowing it, she wasn't expecting the Keyblade to come spinning back, which it did, making everyone duck for cover as Aqualis hit the cliff and became lodged within the rocks. That made Lucia shout, "Jeez Hanon, what was that all about?!"

Everyone got up as Hanon just smiled and said, "Sorry about that everyone, I wasn't expecting it to actually come back." Everyone else just looked at her in disbelief as she added, "I was going to go get it back, honest!"

They all just sighed as Nikora went over and tried pulling out Aqualis from the cliff, but it was stuck in pretty deep, that she couldn't get it out. She called over to the girls shouting, "Um, girls? A little help here please!"

Lucia, Hanon, and Rina went over and helped Nikora pull out the Keyblade from the cliff. They struggled to pull it out, and eventually, Aqualis did come out but it sent the four mermaids crashing down to the ground. Aqualis flew into the air a bit until it landed on the ground head first, making it stand up.

Then Rina went over to Aqualis and pulled out of the ground saying, "I guess we won't be throwing Aqualis around anytime soon." Lucia and Nikora looked at Hanon at that, who just giggled and smiled.

Last but not least, it was Rina's turn, who, like Lucia and Hanon, managed to get into the rhythm pretty quick. Her technique was a bit more precise than Lucia and Hanon's, but not by that much, and she managed to pull off the three-hit combo she saw Attis do once rather nicely.

Rina stopped at that and Nikora said, "Well now, I think that decided everything." Lucia and Hanon knew where Nikora was going and they each put a hand on Rina's shoulders and together they said, "Please protect us from now on Rina."

There was a perplexed look on Rina's face as Mogie few down upon them, surprising everyone. The Moogle said, "It looks like the Green Mermaid Princess is going to take over for a few days kupo. By the way Lucia kupo, that was quite a nice swing to the head kupo."

Everyone laughed at that while Lucia pouted. That's when the Pink, Aqua, and Green Pearls gave a pulsing flash, and all of a sudden, Shadows appeared on the beach, about ten of them in all. Lucia and Hanon gave a surprised shout as everyone gathered together while the Shadows crawled up to them. Rina readied Aqualis in her hands as she said, "Heartless?! How did they get here?"

"Those are called Shadows kupo. They're the weakest of the Heartless kupo, but they're a threat in huge numbers." Mogie told them. Lucia looked at the Moogle and asked, "How do you know that Mogie?"

Mogie was about to reply when a Shadow came leaping at them, and Rina slashed at it with Aqualis, turning it into black mist. She said, "Everyone get back; I'll take care of this!" Then she shouted, "Green Pearl Synchro!" and her Green Pearl came out of its shell necklace and fused with Aqualis, giving the Keyblade power.

With Aqualis powered up by the Green Pearl, Rina was able to take out each Shadow with one direct blow, though more started to show up to replace the ones Rina had destroyed. As Lucia, Hanon, Nikora, and Mogie watched on Lucia said, "Oh, I wish I could help Rina right now, but our songs can't defeat the Heartless."

"Yeah, and Rina looks like she's starting to get tired too…" Hanon said. Mogie thought about something for a bit when an idea came to him. He went into his dimensional pocket and produced two rings that looked like had a ruby on them. Then Mogie flew over to Lucia and Hanon and held out the two rings to them saying, "Here kupo, these rings will allow you to cast the Fire spell kupo. You should be able to help Rina out with them kupo."

Lucia and Hanon looked grateful as they took the rings from Mogie and put them on. That's when Hanon asked, "Um, Mogie? How do we use them exactly?"

"Well kupo, you hold your hand out to the target and say 'Fire!' kupo. The ring will do the rest kupo." Mogie replied. Lucia and Hanon nodded and ran over to help Rina, who was starting to tire out.

Despite Rina defeating many Shadows, they just kept coming and Rina had a few scratches from them. One of them crept up on her from behind and she didn't know it until she heard Lucia shout, "Fire!" She turned around to see that Lucia had her hand out and that Hanon was firing fireballs from her hands at that Shadows, which dissipated from each one. Lucia fired off another one that tried to attack Rina and she said, "We're here to help you Rina!"

Rina just nodded, and she expected an explanation later as she sliced another Shadow into black mist. With Lucia and Hanon's help, the three of them managed to defeat all the Shadows that came after them. They looked around and saw that no more were about to show up and they felt tired. Nikora and Mogie went up to them in a hurry as Nikora asked, "Are you three alright?"

Seeing how tired the three of them were, Mogie went over to them and pulled out two Ethers and a Potion and gave them to the girls saying, "Here kupo, drink these, so you'll feel better kupo."

Lucia and Hanon took the Ethers, while Rina took the Potion and the three of them drank. Instantly they felt better, and Rina's scratches had faded, making it look like she wasn't hurt at all. Then Mogie went over to Lucia and Hanon saying, "I'm sorry Lucia, Hanon, but you'll need to give those Fire rings back to me kupo. I'll have something for the three of you prepared in the future kupo. I promise kupo."

The two girls nodded as they gave the Fire rings back to Mogie. Then Nikora said, "Now that was scary. I think we should head back to the hotel for now." The three Mermaid Princesses nodded at that idea as Mogie put away the rings, and the five of them made their way back to the hotel with Lucia starting up, "Hey, do you two know about that house that's supposedly haunted…?"

* * *

_Asumi's house_

Attis and Asumi were talking and having dinner with Attis saying, "So, you actually live with your two friends who are actually sisters?"

"Yes, but due to their jobs, they're not home most of the time." Asumi replied. Attis nodded and took another bite before saying, "I guess that's the reason Maki-san assumed that you live by yourself, right?"

Asumi shook her head as she replied, "No, Uncle Maki knows that I live with my friends. It's just that he also knows about their jobs and that I tend to end up living by myself most of the time. My parents are working overseas most of the time too, so things get pretty quiet around here. I'm seventeen, so he should know that I can take care of myself."

There was a moment of silence as the two of them finished eating. Attis got up and said, "Here, let me help wash the dishes. It's the least I can do for dinner, which I may add, was quite good."

Asumi smiled and said, "Thank you very much Attis-san." Attis nodded and took the dishes to the kitchen, while Asumi went over to the nearby karaoke machine in the living room and asked, "You don't mind if I sing a bit, do you Attis-san?"

"It's fine by me Asumi-san." Attis said as he started washing the dishes. Asumi gave a nod and started up the karaoke machine. Then Asumi started a tune which nearly made Attis drop the dish he was holding, since he recognized the tune as the beginning of Legend of Mermaid! He thought, 'What the-?! Why does she know that song?!'

Asumi didn't notice Attis' reaction as she started singing Legend of Mermaid, and she sounded exactly how Lucia sounds when she sings it. Attis quickly finished the dishes and went over to the living room to listen, sitting on a nearby couch. When Asumi finished Attis couldn't help but ask, "Uh, that's sounds quite interesting Asumi-san, but where exactly did you learn that?"

"Oh, my friends taught me that song. I find it quite calming and it happens to be one of my favorites too." Asumi said. Then she went over to the karaoke machine and said, "Lately though, me and my friends been having weird dreams lately, and I now know this song now."

Then Asumi tuned the machine to the next song and it started up, and Attis recognized it as the start of Splash Dream. Now things were getting weird as he thought, 'Okay, now for sure this isn't a coincidence…'

Attis sat there as he listened to Asumi sing Splash Dream, and couldn't help but be reminded of Lucia as she sang. When she finished that song Asumi said, "That song came to me in a dream that involved a woman with long blond hair and a white dress…"

That surprised Attis as he thought, 'That must've been Aqua Regina, but what would she want with this girl and her friends?' He shook that thought off for a moment and said, "That sounds interesting Asumi-san. By the way, your singing sounds quite good. Have you ever thought about a singing career?"

Asumi shook her head saying, "No, I only sing as a hobby, and I like to keep it that way." Attis nodded with understanding when suddenly, he looked out the window and thought he saw a Shadow lurking outside.

Attis suddenly jumped up, startling Asumi as she said, "A-Attis-san?" He turned to Asumi and said, "Stay here please. I think I just saw something outside the window." A timid nod came from Asumi as Attis made his way outside.

When Attis was outside, he looked around until he saw a glimpse of something pitch black make it's way around a corner of the house and thought, 'Is it a Heartless?' He made his way around the corner, which ended up in an alleyway between two houses. There he found a Neoshadow lurking and Attis winced at that, "Jeez, for me to not have Aqualis on hand…but what is a Neoshadow doing here anyway?"

Attis' voice attracted the Neoshadow's attention and it instantly went on the attack, with Attis firing a Fire spell at it. It slowed the Heartless down, but it still manage to attack, in which case Attis managed to dodge it. He fired off Blizzard, Thunder, Aero, and the newly acquired Water spell at it, and all it seemed to do is slow it down, even though he was hurting it. He thought, 'Damn, I knew that the Keyblade was a magic amplifier, but this is ridiculous!'

That's when the Red Pearl in Attis' pocket pulsed and something clicked within Attis' mind. A spell came back to him and he smirked as he dodged another swipe from the Neoshadow. Then Attis got around to it's backside and held his hand out to it saying, "Fira!"

A stronger and bigger fireball came out of Attis' hand and it hit the Neoshadow dead on. That finished it off as he saw the Neoshadow melt into some kind of dark liquid before disappearing entirely. Attis gave sigh of relief as he looked around for more Heartless. Fortunately that seemed to be the only one as Attis made his way back inside.

When he came in, Attis saw that Asumi looked worried, though that lightened up when Attis came into the room. He looked at her and said, "Everything's fine. I guess it was just my imagination."

"Thank goodness for that." Asumi said with a sigh. Then she said, "Here, let me show you up to the guest room." Attis nodded and followed Asumi to the second floor. The guest room was the first room Attis came across, and he saw three other rooms that had nameplates on them, thought he didn't have a chance to see as Asumi led him inside.

After that, Attis and Asumi talked a bit more before Attis turned in. At the same time, Maki called and Attis just smiled at how Asumi talked off Maki's ear over the phone.

* * *

_Train station_

A few days later, Attis was about to board a train back with Asumi seeing him off. Attis bowed to her and said, "Thanks for putting up with me Asumi-san. I'm sure you got your message clear to your uncle, right?"

"Yeah, thanks to you Attis-san." Asumi said with a grin. Attis looked around and said, "It's a shame that I couldn't meet your friends though. I bet they're interesting people."

Asumi looked around and said, "Yes, they were supposed to be here today. Oh well, I guess they got tied up in a few things." Attis gave a laugh and said, "Yeah, so I'll see you sometime Asumi-san."

As Attis boarded the train Asumi said, "Yeah, I'll see you some other time." With a wave, the train started moving and Asumi watched it go off. Little did either of them know, two girls were spying on them from a distance and they gave each other interested glances before they left.

* * *

_Attis' Apartment_

Attis and Mogie were back at home, after Attis stopped by to pick up Aqualis and the Moogle from Pearl Piari. He stayed for a bit after Mogie said that there was a few stories he had to tell. Then Mogie related what happened over the past few days with the help of Lucia, Hanon, and Rina, about the situation with Aqualis to the point where the three of them went to this supposedly haunted house and ended up fighting off Yuri and the Heartless, which Mogie identified as Search Ghosts. Attis found the story interesting and somewhat funny in the beginning before he took Aqualis and Mogie and left Pearl Piari.

Back in the apartment, Attis took out Aqualis and after a glowing sensation; it vanished in a flash of light. Attis, who felt tired from some reason decided to go to bed early, but visited Aine first after hearing her voice say in his head, 'I missed you Onii-chan!' After that he promptly went to sleep and somehow managed to stay that way until the next morning.

* * *

Note: Any real life people are only the same in voice only. I don't have a clue what they look like so I just made a new image for them, not to mention the age differences too.


	18. Confusing Mix Up

Chapter 18 – Confusing Mix Up

_City Streets_

A few days after coming back from Saitama, Attis was walking home from work when he bumped into a girl when he wasn't looking. The two fell down and as Attis' got up, he heard Hanon's voice say, "Ow, that hurts…"

Attis quickly got up and said, "Oh, I'm so sorry Ha…non…?" His voice trailed off as the girl in front of him wasn't Hanon. Taking a closer look, he saw that the girl had long brownish black hair in a ponytail, which looked wavy and went down halfway to her back. She was wearing a long white shirt and blue jacket, and had a short skirt with jeans. Attis snapped out of it as he held out his hand and said, "Um, are you alright?"

The girl looked up at him and he saw that she had brown eyes as she said, "Yes, I'm fine…" Attis helped the girl up, and couldn't help but think that she sounded just like Hanon. That's when the girl looked at him and her eyes widened as she said, "Hey, you're that guy that was with Asumi a few days ago!"

"…You know Asumi?" Attis asked, raising an eyebrow. The girl nodded and said, "She's one of my closest friends! Oh, I'm sorry; I didn't get to introduce myself. I'm Hitomi Terakado, Asumi's friend. How about you?"

"I'm Attis Hale, but you can call me Attis Terakado-san." Attis told Hitomi. She nodded and said, "I don't mind if you call me Hitomi either Attis-san."

"Right, so if you don't mind me asking, what are you doing here Hitomi-san?" Attis asked. That seemed to remind Hitomi of something as she said, "Oh no, I almost forgot! Excuse me, but do you know someone named Taro Mitsuki?"

Attis was surprised at that as he replied, "Uh, actually I do. I take it you know him?"

Hitomi looked relieved and she said, "Yes, we used to be neighbors in the past, but I haven't seen him in a while. I know where he lives actually; do you want me to take you to his place?"

That seemed to brighten her mood as she said excitedly, "Really, you mean it? Oh thank you so much Attis-san, I really appreciate it." Attis couldn't help but think, 'Wow, it sounds like Hanon's right here beside me. First Asumi-san, now Hitomi-san, I wonder if this is a coincidence?'

As Attis led the way to Taro's house, Hitomi asked him, "I saw you a few days ago back on the train platform with Asumi. What were you two doing?"

Attis couldn't help but feel that she was getting somewhere with that, not to mention that she was at the platform too when Asumi saw him off. He said, "Maki-san asked me to check up on Asumi-san for a few days, since she was alone for a bit. I'm just wondering, what exactly do you do Hitomi-san?"

"Oh, I actually work with my sister, who's a model, and I'm actually her co-manager." Hitomi replied, "What about you?"

"I'm just a waiter working for Maki-san. That's how he sent me to check on Asumi-san." Attis told her. Hitomi gave a sigh and said, "Maki-san worries about Asumi way too much. I understand that we're not there most of the time but Asumi can take care of herself. She's a freaking black belt for crying out loud!"

That outburst surprised Attis and he couldn't help but smile and nod as Hitomi went on ranting as they walked towards Taro's house. Attis thought, 'Man, I better hope that I'm not around when Hanon goes on a ranting spree…'

* * *

_Taro's house_

When Attis and Hitomi reached Taro's house, Hitomi was looking at it saying, "So, this is where Taro-chan lives huh? It's quite a nice place."

Attis raised an eyebrow at the 'Taro-chan' part, but he didn't question it as the two of them walked up to the front door. Attis rang the doorbell and Taro's voice said, "Yes, who is it?"

"It's me Mitsuki-san." Attis replied. He heard footsteps approaching and he didn't notice that Hitomi had hid behind him for a surprise. The door opened and Taro appeared at the door saying, "Oh Attis-san, what brings you here?"

Before Attis could say anything however, Hitomi popped out from behind saying, "Hi Taro-chan! It's been awhile, hasn't it?"

Taro was taken aback by this and said, "H-Hitomi-chan? Is that you?" Hitomi gave a grin and said, "Of course it is Taro-chan! Don't tell me that you forgot, after not seeing each other for so long! I guess this is what happens when you don't see someone for a few years now, right?"

A laugh came from Taro as he said, "Sorry about that Hitomi-chan. I take it that Attis-san brought you here?"

Hitomi nodded and replied, "Yes, we happened to bump into each other and I asked him about you." Taro seemed to understand and turned to Attis saying, "Well then, thank you very much for guiding Hitomi-chan here Attis-san. If it weren't for you, Hitomi-chan would probably still be wandering around town lost."

"I wasn't lost! I just didn't know where you lived, that's all." Hitomi retorted with a pout. Attis just laughed and said, "Well, it's no problem Mitsuki-san. I'd better get going now, so I'll see the two of you sometime."

Taro and Hitomi said goodbye to Attis too, and when he turned around and walked away, the last thing he heard was Taro asking, "So, how's Asumi-chan and your sister?" He just smirked while thinking, 'First Asumi, now Hitomi. Those two sound like Lucia and Hanon respectively, and Asumi knows both Legend of Mermaid and Splash Dream. If it happens again, then it's definitely not a coincidence…'

* * *

_Maki's restaurant_

The next day Attis was busy with the tables when Taro and Hitomi came in. He greeted them, which earned a look of surprise from Taro as he asked, "So, you actually work here Attis-san?"

"Yeah, I'm a full-time waiter here." Attis told them. Hitomi looked interested as Attis seated them to a table. That's when Maki came around and said, "Oh, if it isn't little Hitomi! It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"It sure has Maki-san! I haven't seen you for a while either!" Hitomi replied. Then Taro turned to Maki and said, "Hi there Maki-san, it's been a while since I last came here."

Maki patted Taro's shoulder and said, "It sure has Mitsuki-kun. The only times I hear from you is when you order something. So what's the occasion?"

Attis was there watching the whole thing until he noticed that Lucia, Hanon, and Rina just entered, with a girl that he didn't recognize, but looked like she had some of Hanon's features like the color of her hair and eyes. Seeing that Maki was busy talking, he took it upon himself to address them as they got in. He walked up to them and said, "Hi girls. Are you here to eat?"

The girl that he didn't know looked at Attis oddly, which he noticed as Lucia replied, "We're just here to have lunch, and to show Meru-chan around."

"Meru-chan?" Attis asked, looking at the girl. The girl still gave him that odd look, but she introduced herself saying, "Hello, my name is Meru."

"Hi Meru-chan, I'm Attis Hale, but everyone calls me Attis. It's nice to meet you." Attis held out his hand to her, but Meru looked reluctant to take it. A nudge from Hanon made Meru take Attis' hand and they shook, then Attis said, "A table for four, right? Let's see…"

As Attis was looking around, Hanon saw Taro sitting with Hitomi, but she couldn't see Hitomi's face since her back was turned to them. She got excited at the sight of Taro, but that faded as she saw Hitomi sitting with him, and she started to look jealous. She said, "Who is that person sitting with my Taro-chan? I'm going to show her not to steal him!"

Hanon marched right over and Attis noticed saying, "Wait Hanon-! Shoot, we'd better stop her before she embarrasses herself!"

Rina looked at Attis and asked, "Why, is there something about that girl Mitsuki-sensei is with Attis?" Attis replied, "Yeah, in a way, but Hitomi-san is just a friend of Mitsuki-san visiting him for a few days."

Meru, who was watching off from the sidelines thought, 'What is wrong with Hanon-sama? She never acted like this before.' She followed Attis, Lucia, and Rina over to the table where Hanon was heading to.

Maki had already left with Taro and Hitomi's order when Hanon came out to them shouting, "Mitsuki-sensei!" Hitomi was caught off guard by Hanon's voice, when she suddenly got an idea and motioned to Taro to not say anything. Taro seemed to understand as he said, "Oh Hanon-san, this is a surprise!"

"Me too, since this is the first time I've ever seen you here at the restaurant Mitsuki-sensei!" Hanon replied. As everyone else caught up Attis noticed that Hitomi had glint in her eye as Hanon asked, "So, who is this friend your with Mitsuki-sensei?"

Taro saw the glint in Hitomi's eyes, and that's when it hit him that she and Hanon sounded exactly alike. He also knew that she was planning something and decided to play along by saying, "This is a friend of mine, her name's Hitomi Terakado."

Hitomi just smiled and nodded towards Hanon as she said, "I see." Then Hitomi threw her voice off and said, "Is she a mute Mitsuki-sensei?"

Lucia, Rina, and Meru looked at Hanon in shock, thinking that it came from her. Attis however knew that it was Hitomi that was doing it but didn't point it out, wondering what was going to happen. Hanon just looked plain shocked as Taro saw what was going on and he played along saying, "No she isn't Hanon-san, she's just a bit shy."

Hitomi nearly laughed at that but managed to keep her mouth shut as Hanon stuttered, "B-but I-!" That's when Hitomi continued, "I'm sorry sensei, I didn't mean to be rude. It's just that you have such a cute girl in front of you I can't help but be curious."

Attis looked at Hitomi and wondered how she could've said that while keeping a straight face. Meanwhile everyone else looked at Hanon, who looked frozen in shock, unable to say anything and her mouth was open, which didn't help as Taro said, "That's a nice thing to say Hanon-san, and I understand you being curious." Attis was trying hard not to laugh as Hanon tried to say something.

That's when Hanon managed to say, "M-Mitsuki-sensei, I didn't say any of that!" Then Hitomi added, "I mean, I didn't mean to say any of that, it just came out!" Rina noticed something strange going on, since she didn't see Hanon's lips move even though she heard her voice.

Hitomi noticed Attis trying hard not to laugh and decide to add the final straw saying, "Again I am so sorry, and as a token of my apology, let me give you a kiss on the cheek Taro-chan!"

That made Hanon beet red in the face, while Lucia and Rina realized that something was going on, since they knew that Hanon would never call Taro 'Taro-chan' in front of his face. All of a sudden, Attis fell down to his knees, unable to hold in his laughter anymore, and said, "Please, no more. It's too funny…"

Everyone looked at Attis as Maki came around with the orders for Taro and Hitomi. Seeing the situation, and the look on both Hanon and Hitomi's faces, he said, "Your still up to your old tricks, aren't you Hitomi? I can hazard guess what happened…"

"Oh don't be such a spoilsport Maki-san." Hitomi said, making everyone turn to her in surprise, except for Taro and Attis. The Mermaids were all surprised that Hitomi sounded just like Hanon, and Hitomi turned to her and said, "I'm very sorry miss, I just wanted to play a joke, that's all, and I am sorry."

Hanon seemed to get angry, but she calmed down after that and said, "I understand. I'm Hanon Hoshou; it's nice to meet you Terakado-san." Hanon held out her hand to Hitomi, and she shook it saying, "Nice to meet you too Hoshou-san."

That's when Lucia said, "Wow, I never expected to meet someone with the same voice as Hanon." Rina nodded and added, "Yeah, it's not everyday that something like this happens." Hitomi's eyes widened for a second before she brushed her thoughts aside, as Maki put their orders down on the table saying, "Here you go, before it gets cold."

"Thank you very much." Taro and Hitomi said. Then Attis followed Maki and went back to work, though he did notice that when each time Hitomi said 'Taro-chan', Hanon would give a twitch every time. Attis thought it was quite funny as he went back to work.

Meanwhile, Meru was eyeing Hitomi with quite the curiosity as the conversation went on. She couldn't help but think, 'This human has the same voice as Hanon-sama, and why was Hanon-sama acting that way earlier?'

* * *

_Beachside_

The next day, Attis was walking down the beachside, feeling a bit tired, since it was quite the work day. He sighed and thought, 'Well, yesterday was one of the more interesting days of work. At least Hanon didn't go crazy back at the shop.' Thinking back to yesterday, after Taro and Hitomi left, Attis heard Hanon go on a rant that Hitomi had come to town to steal her Taro-chan. He, as well as the others doubted it, while Meru seemed to be out of it for some reason.

Attis gave another sigh until the Red Pearl started pulsing in his pocket, and he knew that there was trouble with the Mermaid Princesses. He got into his black cloak and jumped right into the ocean, heading towards the place the Red Pearl was leading them.

As Attis swam towards the spot, he saw that the three Mermaid Princesses were already singing Super Love Songs to Yuri, who was clutching her head. Not far off from them was Meru in the water, who was looking up at the Mermaid Princesses in amazement. He stayed out of sight as he thought, 'Let's see how this plays out.'

When Yuri was defeated, Momo showed up with news that Meru's mother had been found. That's when a Screwdiver jumped out of the water, with its spear pointed at Meru. Lucia, Hanon, and Rina turned around to see it with Hanon shouting, "Meru!"

Meru was shocked by the Screwdiver's appearance that she couldn't move and braced herself. The Heartless didn't even touch her when Aqualis came spinning out of nowhere and whacked the Screwdiver in the side, cutting through it as Attis showed up saying, "Is everyone alright?"

As Aqualis spun around and Attis caught it, Meru recognized Attis as Hanon said, "Whew that was close. Thank you Attis."

"It's no problem Hanon." Attis told her. Then he turned to Meru and asked, "Are you alright Meru-chan?"

"Y-you're that human from that restaurant!" Meru blurted out in surprise. Attis smiled and said, "Yes I am." He looked around, but saw that no more Heartless was showing up, and when Momo came back up to the surface Attis asked, "Are there anymore Heartless under the water Momo-chan?"

Momo shook his head, which made Attis wonder, "Now that's just plain weird…" Suddenly, there were three pops and three more Heartless appeared; a Wyvern and two Wizards.

With these new Heartless appearing, Attis knew that he would need more power, so he took out the Red Pearl necklace, which Meru was surprised to see. What shocked her more was when Attis shouted, "Red Pearl Synchro!"

The Red Pearl fused with Aqualis and Attis said, "All of you better get underwater, 'cause things are about to get dicey!"

Lucia, Hanon, and Rina nodded and they turned back into their Mermaid forms. Then they grabbed Meru and dove into the water, just as the Wyvern swooped down and tried to ram the Mermaids with a nose dive. Under the water, they saw the Wyvern swoop at the spot that they were and sighed with relief, while Meru asked, "What are those things Hanon-sama?!"

"They're Heartless Meru, so we should take some cover." Hanon replied. Meru's eyes widened as she said, "You mean that the Heartless are real?!"

"Yes Meru-chan, and Attis is the only one that can fight them right now." Lucia replied. Meru looked from Lucia to Rina, and she never saw them look so serious as the continued to look up.

Meanwhile, Attis was busy trying to defeat the Wizards while trying to avoid the Wyvern's claw and dive-bomb attacks. Both Wizards were able to use 'Ra' level magic, and all kinds, which made them more dangerous than the Wyvern. Attis managed to take down one Wizard, but the Wyvern started to get more aggressive, trying to claw Attis most of the time.

The Wizard was casting spells and flying around in a way that made it hard for Attis to land a blow, and he knew that the Heartless was resistant to spells. However he had to stop it somehow so he pointed Aqualis right at the Wizard when it stopped and shouted, "Fira!"

A big fireball formed at the tip of Aqualis and shot towards the Wizard, and it collided with the Heartless, making an explosion. At the same time, Attis had to turn his attention to the Wyvern and he barely managed to block it's claws, though it managed to scratch Attis' shoulder.

Attis thought about Curing it but saw that the Wizard was trying to put out the fire on itself and was shaking around. The Heartless was totally off guard and so, dodging another dive-bomb attack from the Wyvern, Attis went straight over to the Wizard, just as the fire went out. It didn't have a chance as Attis kept on striking it until it was defeated, it's heart floating into the air. With the Wizards gone, Attis was about to face the Wyvern when it struck him right in the back with a charge, sending him into the ocean.

The four Mermaids saw him plunge into the ocean and they swam over to see if he was alright. Attis came to his senses and managed to float upright as the Mermaids approached them, with Lucia asking, "Are you alright Attis?"

"Ugh, yeah I'm fine. Cure!" Pointing Aqualis over his head, the spell worked it's magic and the cut that Attis had on his shoulder healed up. Then he swam right back up to the surface and jumped out of the water, pointing the Keyblade up. Attis got the Wyvern smack in the jaw with that move, since the Wyvern was hovering over the spot where Attis had fallen into.

The blow disoriented the Heartless, and Attis saw that chance, just as another click formed in Attis' head, and another spell came back to him. He smirked as Attis pointed Aqualis to the Wyvern and shouted, "Blizzara!"

The Blizzara formed and shot out of Aqualis in the form of an ice shard. It hit the Wyvern and the shard somehow exploded into a white mist. When it disappeared, it revealed that the Wyvern's wings had frozen over, and that gave Attis an opening as the Wyvern started to fall from the sky.

Jumping after it, Attis brought Aqualis up and when he was over the Wyvern's head, he swung it down as hard as he could, with the Red Pearl glowing. It was all in one quick swing and the Wyvern started to vanish as it hit the ocean. Attis landed on the rock as he looked on to see it's heart started rise from it and vanish into thin air.

The four Mermaids swam to the surface to see if everything's all clear, and when they looked, all they found was Attis putting the Red Pearl back in it's shell necklace. After he finished and put the necklace in his pocket, Attis turned to the girls and said, "Well, I think that's it. Man, this is starting to get old…though at least I can hold my own now."

Meru just had a look of surprise on her face as Attis rematerialized Aqualis and cast a Cure spell on himself. That's when Momo came back up and that made Attis say, "Well then, I guess I'll see you girls later. Bye for now!"

Attis left the company of the Mermaids as Momo caught their attention, and he felt exhausted and had a craving for an early dinner. However he had an odd feeling that something was going to happen after dinner, and he wouldn't be disappointed.

* * *

_Pearl Piari_

It was around sunset, and Attis was walking by Pearl Piari when he saw that Meru was saying goodbye to everyone, and wondered where Meru was going. This thought was interrupted when Hitomi came out of nowhere and shouted, "Hi Attis-san!"

That made Attis jump, and the shout had gotten the attention of everyone else at Pearl Piari. Hanon's eyes narrowed at the sight of Hitomi as she and Attis walked past Pearl Piari, and that's when Hanon decided to march up to Hitomi and confront her.

Lucia and Rina looked at each other for a second and knew that it was trouble, so they ran after her with Meru behind them. Meanwhile Hanon ran in front of them with Hitomi saying, "Oh, Hoshou-san! This is a surprise!"

That's when Hanon said, "Okay Terakado-san, let me cut right to the chase. What are you to Taro-chan?!"

Hitomi raised an eyebrow at that and said, "He was a next door neighbor and a friend too. By the way, you call him Taro-chan too? Is it because of those boyish eyes of his?"

"You noticed that too, it's so obvious right?" Hanon said, getting off track for a bit. Then she snapped back and asked, "So, you wouldn't consider dating him right?" Hitomi made a face at that and said, "Eww, no! No offense, Taro-chan's handsome and all, but he's like my brother, and dating him would just feel way too weird for my taste!"

A wave of relief came over Hanon and Hitomi noticed it. However she kept her mouth shut about it as she turned to Attis and said, "As I was saying, I'm going to head back home now, Asumi and Nee-san are going to worry if I don't head back. I'll see you later Attis-san. Oh, and it was nice to meet all of you too." Hitomi turned to the Mermaids at that and gave a wave before heading off to the station.

As Hitomi walked away Rina couldn't help but say, "You know, having Terakado-san around is like having a second Hanon around. I don't think I'd be able to handle that much."

"Yeah, having one Hanon is more than enough." Attis replied, "At least the two don't act the same." Suddenly they heard Hitomi shout, "Kya! Those shoes look so cute!" They looked and saw Hitomi in front of a shoe store, as Attis slapped himself and said, "I take that back. They act the same under certain circumstances."

Hanon was less than amused as everyone else laughed at that. Attis thought, 'First Asumi, then Hitomi. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that Hitomi's sister would sound like Rina. But that would be impossible since they're sisters, right?'


	19. The Model Coming to Town

Chapter 19 – The Model Coming to Town

_Maki's restaurant_

Things in the restaurant were starting to build up as people who came by were excited about a model that was gaining popularity. She was supposed to come by the town which made mostly the guys excited, and from what Attis could gather, the model's name was Mayumi Asano, and he couldn't help but wonder what she was all about. Apparently the people heard that she was coming to this restaurant as part of her vacation, and that's why things started to get busy pretty quick.

When he asked Maki about it, all he got was a smile and was told to wait and see. This made Attis wonder why Maki looked a bit smug about the whole deal. All he knew that this Mayumi person would be coming in today and he wondered how that got leaked out.

Now Attis heard that today was the day that this Mayumi person would show up, though he was surprised that things around the restaurant as usual. He thought, 'I guess that makes sense, since Maki-san did tell me that it was under wraps…'

As the time went by, Attis felt a bit more strained and tired than usual, and this made him walk towards the staff room. He turned to Maki along the way and said, "I'm going to take a break for a bit. Is that alright with you Maki-san?"

Seeing the tired look on Attis' face, Maki replied, "Sure Attis, you look like you need it." Attis gave a grateful nod and made his way to the staff room, while Maki looked worried.

Meanwhile, a woman came into the shop, trying to look normal and not draw attention. She had long, silky dark brown hair that went down to her waist, and had heterochromic eyes, with her left a chocolate brown, and her right an emerald green. The woman wore a white shirt with a silver jacket, blue jeans, and to top it off, she wore regular sneakers.

The woman, Mayumi Asano, looked around searching for a certain someone in the restaurant. She had a picture in her hand and when she looked at it, it was a picture of Asumi seeing Attis off at the train station a while ago. Taking another look around, Mayumi thought, 'He's not here, might as well find Maki-san first.'

Mayumi went up to the bar, attracting the attention of some of the customers, though she didn't pay much attention to them. Maki, was busy cleaning a glass, heard the whispers and looked up to see Mayumi approaching. When she sat down on a stool he said, "Ah, Mayumi-san, it's been a while. What do you want to order?"

"I'll just have a fruit cocktail Maki-san." Mayumi replied. Maki nodded, and as he prepared the drink, he said, "You know that Hitomi came by a few days ago, right?"

Mayumi nodded and said, "Yeah, I know. She came by here to see Taro, but she also got to meet the guy that you sent to check on Asumi too. From what I hear, he's friends with three girls that sound exactly like me, Hitomi, and Asumi."

"I know, I was surprised too when they came by the restaurant for the first time." Maki said, as he finished making the fruit cocktail and gave it to Mayumi. Before she started drinking it however, she asked, "By the way, where is that person, Attis Hale-san was it? I heard from Hitomi that he works here, but I don't see him around…"

"Attis is resting in the staff room." Maki replied, "He's been working hard since the start of the summer season. He deserves a break and he hasn't even said anything about taking a day off, not to mention that he's only seventeen."

That made Mayumi curious as she said, "Hmm? Is that why you sent him and not another employee to 'check' on Asumi?" Maki dodged the implication by saying, "Yeah, since I know that Attis is responsible, despite him not working here for very long."

"…I see." Mayumi said, a bit annoyed that Maki replied in a calm manner. It caught her slightly off guard, but she knew better, and kept herself composed as she continued to drink.

When Mayumi finished she asked, "Maki-san, do you mind if I go to the staff room for a bit?"

Maki knew what Mayumi wanted and replied, "Go right ahead, but make it quick, or else the customers might start talking."

Mayumi just rolled her eyes and smiled, as she got and made her way to the staff room, earning a couple of glances from the customers. Everything went back to normal as Mayumi left their sights, and all Maki could do was wonder why Mayumi was interested in Attis.

* * *

_Maki's restaurant – staff room_

Attis had fallen asleep on the couch while trying to clear his head, so he didn't notice that Mayumi entered the staff room. Seeing the sleeping Keyblade warrior, Mayumi took out the picture she had and compared it to Attis. Seeing that it really was him, Mayumi walked over to Attis while thinking, 'So this is the guy Asumi and Hitomi were talking about. I must admit, he does look cute.'

When Mayumi was beside the couch, she cleared her voice and asked, "Excuse me, Hale-san? Could you wake up please?"

Attis kept on sleeping, though all he did was shift around a bit and mumble, "Hmm, not now Rina, I'm tired…"

Mayumi raised an eyebrow as she thought, 'Rina? Must be that girl Hitomi talked about whose voice sounds just like mine. Either way, I need to wake this guy up, which is a shame since he looks cute sleeping.' She gave a sigh and thought, 'Oh well, I only use this with Hitomi or Asumi, but I guess I can make an exception…'

Mayumi reached down and started to pinch Attis on the arm. Then she gave a painful twist while shouting, "Wake up!"

Those two things jerked Attis awake and it shocked him, making him jump off the couch and land painfully on the floor. Mayumi got out of the way in time as she held a laugh, while Attis got up rubbing his arm and saying, "Oww…what the heck?!"

Now on his feet, Attis just noticed that Mayumi was standing next to him with an amused look on her face. Still half-asleep, he blinked a few times before asking, "Um, who are you?"

The amused expression on Mayumi's face lightened up a bit as she cleared her throat and said, "Sorry for waking you up like that Hale-san, but I really wanted to talk to you." Attis was surprised that Mayumi had the same voice as Rina's as she went on, "Sorry, let me introduce myself to you first. My name is Mayumi Asano, Asumi's friend and Hitomi's older sister. It's nice to meet you Attis Hale-san."

Attis was fully awake now as he took in the information. Something came to mind and he asked, "You're Hitomi's sister? Then what's with the name difference?"

"Hitomi's my adoptive sister." Mayumi replied, "My parents adopted her and they let her keep her family name. Her parents were great friends of mine and Asumi's parents, so you know…"

A nod came from Attis as he understood and said, "I understand, and I'm sorry for bringing it up. Anyway, I'm kinda curious as to why you're here Asano-san. By the way, you can call me Attis instead, since everyone else does around here."

"Sure, then you can call me Mayumi, Attis-san." Mayumi said. She went over to a nearby chair and sat in it before she replied, "Actually, I came here to meet you Attis-san. Asumi and Hitomi find you, well; I guess you can say interesting."

"Interesting?" Attis asked, with no clue what the heck Mayumi was talking about. Mayumi just shrugged and said, "Beat's me what those two girls are talking about, and with Hitomi being one of my co-managers, I hear it most of the time."

Attis just nodded as Mayumi got up and said, "Anyway, I also want to meet those friends of yours. You know, those three girls that sound like me, Hitomi, and Asumi."

"Uh, sorry but I heard that they went to a concert with a couple of their friends. I don't know where it's taking place either, sorry." Attis told her.

Sighing, Mayumi said, "That's too bad… Well, how about you take me to Taro's place. I've always wondered what that guy's been doing these days. I heard from Hitomi, but still…"

"…That is something I can do, but not right now. I still have work to do, and I won't be done until around five." Attis told her. Mayumi thought about something and she said, "Well then, how about I help out until then?"

Attis looked at Mayumi a bit oddly as he asked, "Is that alright with you? I mean…"

Mayumi just nodded while getting up saying, "You don't look so well Attis-san, so I'll take over for you, just for today alright? I'll talk to Maki-san about it, so you just get some rest." Eyeing him she added, "Just for the record, you look like you just pulled an all-nighter Attis-san."

Attis just sat back down on the couch as Mayumi gave a wave with her hand and left the staff room. Suddenly the feeling of tiredness came over Attis as he fell down to his side and fell back asleep, dozing off after the first couple of minutes.

* * *

_City Street_

It was nighttime, and Attis was busy trying to find a place to eat. He sighed as he remembered the events of what happened after waking up from his break. Apparently he woke up around three, and realized that he had slept for three hours. Attis was surprised by that and he quickly got up, hurrying back to work.

When he got back, Attis found the place to be packed, with the center of attention being Mayumi. After apologizing to Maki for the long break, he got back to work, relieving the other waiters of some of their workload. Most of the customers came to check out Mayumi, and things were hectic until five came along, when Attis got off work. Mayumi followed soon after, as to not start any rumors.

Seeing a restaurant that he found interesting, Attis walked towards it as what happened next played though his mind. Mayumi wanted to visit Taro, so Attis had to guide her to Taro's place. Attis couldn't help but feel like it was déjà vu when Taro answered the door. The greeting went the same way as it did with Hitomi, and Attis left the two soon after. That was over an hour ago as Attis entered the restaurant.

Attis sat at a table and ordered a small pizza. As he stared out the window waiting, Mayumi entered the restaurant, looking around for someone. When she saw Attis staring out the window, Mayumi walked over to his table and said, "Hi there Attis-san. Mind if I have a seat?"

Snapping out of his trance, Attis looked up and saw Mayumi standing beside his table. He was taken aback by her appearance a bit as he replied, "Uh, sure go right ahead."

"Thanks." Mayumi replied as she sat down. At the same time, Attis' pizza came by and the waiter said, "Here you go sir." Then the waiter noticed Mayumi and was slightly surprised to see a model such as herself sitting with Attis. The waiter kept his surprise hidden as he asked, "May I take your order miss?"

After Mayumi ordered a fruit smoothie, Attis asked, "So, what brings you around Mayumi-san? I thought you were going to catch up with Mitsuki-san?"

"I did, and it was quicker than I thought. Taro treated me to a quick dinner, but he had a recital to attend to, so that was the end of that. I was considering going back home, but then I saw you walk by and I figured that I'd learn more about you." Mayumi told him.

Attis raised an eyebrow at that as he continued eating. After swallowing a bite, he said, "Really now? What makes you say that?"

Mayumi's fruit smoothie came along and she took a sip. Then she replied, "Both Asumi and Hitomi have a good opinion of you, and they only just met you over the course of a few days apart. Makes me wonder why…"

"Me too…" Attis muttered as he took another bite. Mayumi took another sip before asking, "So, if you don't mind, why don't you tell me a bit about yourself?"

Inwardly, Attis cringed since he would have to make up quite a bit. He nodded and went on to say that he was an orphan for most of his life, and that he had to work most of his life that his education stopped after graduating middle school. Then Mayumi went on to tell Attis about herself, how she, Asumi, and Hitomi were together since childhood, and that she took up modeling as a way to support themselves after high school, since their parents were away. She even went on to tell Attis the story of how Hitomi became one of her co-managers.

Attis laughed a bit at that story as he finished his pizza and downed a cup of water. That's when out of the corner of his eyes, he though he saw something yellow move on one of the nearby rooftop buildings.

With his sense of danger kicking in, Attis quickly got up and left for the door saying, "I'm really sorry about this Mayumi-san, but I just remembered that I had something important to do." He put the money for both his and Mayumi's orders on the table before he said, "I'll see you some other time Mayumi-san!"

Watching Attis rush out the door, Mayumi had an odd feeling that Attis was lying about what he just said. When the waiter came around, she quickly finished her smoothie, though that gave her a slight case of brain freeze, and told the waiter that the money was on the table. Then she rushed out of the restaurant, just in time to see Attis walking up the outside staircase of a building and ran over to follow him.

* * *

_Building rooftop_

Attis was on top of the building where he found a bunch of Loudmouths and Fire Plants on the roof. When he took a step forward, even more showed up which made Attis change into his cloak and materialize Aqualis. Throwing the hood over his head, Attis charged forward thinking, 'More Heartless, and to think I thought that this day would end without seeing one.'

With that Attis engaged the Loudmouths, since their healing capability would be quite a problem. Getting rid of the Loudmouths was tougher than Attis thought it would be, since the Fire Plants kept on firing fireballs at him, while a Loudmouth would either heal one of it's comrades, or fire an Aero spell at him. Soon, there was only one Loudmouth left when Attis heard a voice shout, "W-what the heck a-are these things?!"

Whipping around, Attis saw Mayumi standing there with a shocked look on her face. He thought, 'Don't tell me she actually followed me?!'

One of the Fire Plants noticed Mayumi and it fired a fireball right at her. Mayumi saw it and she was too terrified to scream as she braced herself. Attis dashed right over and shielded Mayumi from the fireball with Aqualis, however the blast threw off his hood, revealing his face as he fell backwards.

As Attis got up, Mayumi lowered her arms and saw Attis shaking his head. Surprised, she said in a shaky voice, "A-Attis-san?! W-What the h-heck are y-you doing here?!"

Feeling that his hood had fallen back, Attis cringed as he got back up and said, "I'll explain later, just get away from here now!" Mayumi immediately complied with that, but when she turned to run back down the stairs, she ran smack right into a barrier.

Attis saw that the entire roof was surrounded by one and thought, 'Damn, at this rate, Mayumi will be devoured by the Heartless!' As more Loudmouths and a few Shadows popped up, Aqua Regina's voice suddenly appeared in his head saying, 'Let that girl sing…'

'Huh?' Attis thought, thinking he was hallucinating. As he forced a Shadow back Aqua Regina repeated, 'Let that girl sing Attis…with the power of the Red Pearl, she can help you this once…'

With the Heartless starting to get more aggressive, Attis didn't have time to think about it. All he did was grab the Red Pearl from his pocket and thought, 'Red Pearl Voice!' The e-Pitch materialized in Attis' hand just as he and Mayumi had to jump out of the way of an incoming fireball.

When the got back up, Attis swung Aqualis around to ward off the Heartless as he tossed the e-Pitch to Mayumi. She caught it as Attis said, "Sing something, like one of those songs that you have on that karaoke machine of yours!'

Mayumi was about to question everything, but Attis gave her a look saying, "I'll explain everything later, just sing something!" Attis pushed back a Loudmouth as a song came to Mayumi's mind.

Suddenly, a melody came from the e-Pitch, one that Attis recognized very well. Mayumi calmed down and prepared to sing, as Attis felt a twinge of power come from the Red Pearl as she started.

_Nagareboshi ne negai wo kaketa_

_ Nanatsu no hikari mitsukedashite_

_ Hanarebanare ni natta Trailing Star_

_ Unmei to iu kizuna wo shinjiteru_

* * *

_City streets_

Down below, Hanon and Rina were walking around after beating back Eriru. Rina was still a bit miffed that she wasn't able to sing her song, with Hanon wondering how to calm her down. Rina mumbled, "Water demons are so rude…"

"Yes, yes…" Hanon replied, sweat dropping a bit. That's when they heard a faint voice singing, "Unmei to iu kizuna wo shinjiteru…"

That caught them off guard as Hanon said, "What the heck was that?!"

Rina looked around and said, "That sounds like my song, and my voice too!"

Then the next verse of Star Jewel started and they followed it, with Mayumi's voice getting stronger as the two of them got closer. Hanon asked, "What do you think it is Rina?"

"I don't know, but for some reason I have the strangest feeling that it's related to Attis." Rina replied as the two kept running.

* * *

_Building rooftop_

Attis was a bit surprised at first when Mayumi sung the first verse of Star Jewel, but his attention snapped to the Heartless, and the scene before him baffled him. The Heartless looked like they were in pain, with the Loudmouths and Shadows staggering here and there. It reminded Attis of how the water demons acted every time the Mermaid Princesses sang to them.

Shaking his head, Attis instantly went on the attack, with him striking the nearest Loudmouth as Mayumi started the next verse. To his surprise, the Heartless were falling at a quick rate, as it only took a few swipes at each one to defeat. Attis wondered if this was the power of the Red Pearl at work.

_Meguriaeru subete no mono ga_

_ Houseki ni naru kiseki o shinjiteru_

At that last verse, Attis cleared out the rest of the Heartless as Mayumi fell to her knees as the intensity faded. From what Attis could tell, the momentum and adrenaline were the only things keeping her on her feet. He saw that she was scared, and for some reason, Attis thought he saw Rina's image in her place for a moment, but shook it off as he went over to her. He held his hand out as he asked, "Can you get up Ri-, ah I mean, Mayumi-san?"

Mayumi just took his hand and Attis pulled her up. That's when he heard footsteps coming from the stairs and thought, 'Oh no, don't tell me it attracted someone?!' He looked around and saw another flight of stairs on the opposite end.

Then Attis said to Mayumi, "C'mon, this way, I'll take you back to my apartment. I'll explain everything there." Mayumi just nodded and the two of them went down the flight of stairs as Attis took the e-Pitch from her.

After they left, Hanon and Rina reached the rooftop soon after, and all they found was an empty roof with a few scorch marks. Looking around Hanon said, "There's nothing here…that's weird…"

Rina went over to one of the scorch marks and took a close look at it. She said, "These scorch marks are recent. From what I can guess, Attis was just here fighting off Heartless."

Then Hanon asked, "If he was, then where is he now?"

Rina had no answer for that as the two took another look around, while Attis was busy leading Mayumi back to his apartment

* * *

_Attis' apartment_

Back at Attis' apartment, there was a moment of silence between Attis and Mayumi, with Mogie between them sitting on the table. When the two of them got back, Attis settled a still slightly disturbed Mayumi in and prepared some tea. After serving her some, Attis went into the explanation of the Heartless, the Keyblade, and the Red Pearl. He didn't go into too much detail about it, especially about the Red Pearl, only saying that it helped him fight against the Heartless and that it was related to music.

Mayumi seemed to buy that and she finally said, "You know, it all sounds like something from a fantasy novel or something of the sort." Attis just laughed and said, "Yeah, I know. But, if the Heartless aren't stopped, then more people will turn into them and add to their ranks."

Attis couldn't help but remember how Mayumi acted when he showed her Mogie. She thought it was cute, but freaked out a bit when Mogie started talking. Now she picked him up and hugged him for a bit before saying, "It's getting late, and I don't want to leave by myself."

"You can stay here for the night Mayumi-san. You can use my room, since the other room is in a bit of a mess… I'll just sleep on one of the couches." Attis told her.

A relieved look came over Mayumi as she said, "Thank you very much Attis-san." Attis got up and said, "I'll prepare everything. Mogie can keep you company for the time being."

"Yes…" Mayumi said as she picked up Mogie and held him close. Mogie liked it and said, "Don't worry kupo, I'll protect you from those bad Heartless kupo!"

Mayumi just giggled at that and Attis couldn't help but smirk as he got his room prepared. A few minutes later, Attis came back out and said, "Well, it's ready Mayumi-san. I'm going to go out for a bit, check on a few things."

There was a worried look on Mayumi's face but Mogie assured her, "It's alright kupo! This apartment is safe, since the Heartless don't show up here anymore kupo. Even if they did, I have a few things that you can use to protect yourself kupo!"

"…Thanks Mogie." Mayumi said. Attis then waved at her and said, "Well, good night Mayumi-san. I'll see you to the train station tomorrow morning." He was about to leave when he said, "Oh, and please don't tell anyone what I just said, especially to Asumi-san and Hitomi-san. I don't want you to worry them or anyone else."

Mayumi nodded as Attis left the apartment. Outside Attis sighed and thought to himself, 'I hope something like this never happens again, but only time can tell…'


	20. Meteor's Gift

Chapter 20 – Meteor's Gift

_Beachside_

Days later, Attis was walking along the beach when he saw Lucia, Hanon and Rina hanging out together on the beach in their swimsuits. He remembered that Hanon and Rina grilled him about the Heartless incident yesterday, and he managed to satisfy their curiosity by just saying that there were indeed Heartless on that rooftop and that he took care of them.

When they asked about the song Star Jewel they heard, Attis made up a story how it was one of the Red Pearl's hidden powers; to be able to replay a song sung by a Mermaid Princess. He didn't want to mention Mayumi to keep things simple, and figured that all of it would just mull over soon enough.

Anyway, Attis tried to walk by them when a glint caught his eye. It caught the attention of the Mermaid Princesses as well, and the four of them ran over to see what it was.

Attis got there first and saw that it was a corked bottle that had a piece of paper inside it. He picked it up as Lucia, Hanon, and Rina approached him, with Lucia asking, "Oh Attis, you're not working today?"

"…Yeah, Maki told me to take the day off for today." Attis replied, still looking at the paper inside the bottle. He then asked, "Wonder what this is…?"

"Hmm, it looks like a letter." Rina replied, looking at the bottle closely. Lucia got all excited and snatched the bottle out of Attis' hand saying, "Let's open it!"

"Uh, Lucia-!" Attis started, but Lucia already popped the cork off the bottle. Suddenly a rainbow light came out of the open bottle and shot into the air, with it exploding like fireworks. That left an impression on the four of them as all Attis said, "Whoa, something that I wasn't expecting…"

The Mermaid Princesses were speechless at the sudden spectacle, but they managed to find their voices as Attis was suddenly reminded of something from before he was chosen by the Keyblade.

* * *

_Flashback – orphanage, nighttime_

A group of orphans were outside admiring the fireworks that were being shot into the sky from a nearby park. Ten year old Attis pointed to one that exploded in the form of a flower and shouted, "That looked so amazing and beautiful, right Karen?"

Thirteen year old Karen nodded and said, "You're right Attis, it really does." Karen had a baby in her arms which was sleeping peacefully as the other orphans admired the fireworks around them.

That's when a big one came up and erupted in a rainbow of colors, making the other orphans shout things to Karen like, "Sis, did you see that?!" "Wasn't it amazing Sis?!" and "That was the biggest one yet Sis!"

Karen smiled at them and said, "Yes, I saw them everyone, and it was quite the big one."

The other orphans went back to watching the fireworks as Attis lay back in the chair he was sitting in. Karen looked at him and asked, "You don't seem to be enjoying the show Attis."

"Nah, it's not that. I just don't show it, that's all." Attis simply replied. Karen shook her head and said, "You are a weird one Attis. You act like you're older than you are at times, and at others, you're just a plain idiot."

A smirk formed on Attis' face as he just waved his hand and said, "Sure, sure…" Karen felt like she wasn't being taken seriously so she turned to the twelve year old girl next to her and said, "Silvie, can you take Haylyn from me please?"

"Sure Sis." Silvie, a girl with short brown hair and matching eyes replied. She took little Haylyn from Karen and edged away from her a bit, as if she knew what was about to happen.

Suddenly, Karen had Attis in a headlock and he was struggling to break free as he shouted, "Owie, w-what the heck Karen?!"

"This is for not taking me seriously Attis!" Karen replied as she continued to hold Attis in a headlock. This attracted the attention of the orphans as a pair of twin boys, having chestnut hair and olive eyes, eyed the scene with interest. One of the boys said, "Looks like Sis is teaching Attis a lesson again Vale."

"…More like she's releasing her frustrations on him again Kail." The boy named Vale told his brother Kail, "He he, I bet Sis is actually PMSing right now."

Karen heard that and shouted to them, "Vale, Kail, where on earth did you learn that?!"

The twins looked at each other before they gave a mischievous grin and said together, "Attis taught us that one sis!"

"What?! No I didn't!" Attis shouted while struggling. The other orphans knew it was a lie since they overheard it from their caretaker when Karen had her first few periods. Karen didn't know that and she gave a dangerous glare to Attis, in which he gulped and said, "It looks like someone needs to be punished~!"

"Hey, I'm innocent here! That was a lie! It's a li-, argh!" Attis struggled as Karen started to pull what looked like wrestling moves on Attis, while the other orphans laughed and cheered at the sight. In the end, the rest of the orphans continued to watch the fireworks while Attis felt like a twisted pretzel for a while.

* * *

_Present time_

"…Attis? Attis?" Lucia called out to him. Attis snapped out of it and said, "Huh, Lucia? Something the matter?"

"No, it's just that you looked like you were spacing out just now." Lucia told him.

Attis scratched his head and said, "Don't worry about it. Just some childhood memories popping up again."

That's when he saw the letter in Rina's hands and asked, "Mind if I see that Rina?"

She complied and handed it over to Attis, and he started to look over it. Then he gave it back to her and said, "Now that's what I call an old fashion letter to the heart. Good luck finding out who's the sender."

"Eh? You're not going to help us Attis?" Hanon asked. Attis shook his head and replied, "Nah, I have a feeling that the three of you will figure out the sender's identity." He walked away and gave a wave saying, "I'll see the three of you later."

Walking off, Attis couldn't help but look at the ocean and think, 'Karen, everyone, I hope all of you are alright. It's been so long, but I still miss everyone…' He gave a sigh as he walked back to his apartment.

* * *

_City streets_

The next day, Attis was off exploring the city, since Maki said that the restaurant was going to be closed for the day, to prepare for the meteor shower. So Attis spent the day combing the city for Heartless, and had a field day at that.

Lucky for him, Mogie created a ring that was able to detect the presence of the Heartless within vicinity, so he didn't have much trouble finding them. What he noticed though that the Heartless he encountered were all Pureblood types, like Shadows and Possessors. That made him wonder if Mayluna was up to something but shook it off, thinking that he'll take care of it when the time comes.

As he walked through the city, Attis saw something black turn the corner into an alleyway, and sighed. Quickly following it, Attis found himself face to face with a Mega-Shadow and a couple of Massive Possessors. Summoning Aqualis to his hand, he fired off a Fira spell at the Mega-Shadow as he struck a Massive Possessor that tried to glomp him.

Soon Attis finished off the last of the Heartless and took a deep breath as he saw Shadow Globs protruding all over the alleyway. He thought, 'This must be the reason for all the Purebloods in the area. Might as well take care of them before they get out of hand.'

After taking care of the Shadow Globs, he was about to leave when a Dark Corridor materialized and out stepped Mayluna, who was now in an Organization XIII cloak and her face was still hooded, yet her mouth still showed. She said, "My, aren't you a busy little bee?"

Snapping around with Aqualis firmly in his hands, Attis spat, "What do you want Mayluna? It's not like you to just drop by for a random visit."

"Aw, you're so mean! Can't I just drop by to visit one of my favorite Keyblade warriors?" Mayluna said with a pout in her voice.

Attis shook his head and said, "Since when am I one of your favorites?"

"Since you beat me the first time we met Atty!" Mayluna replied happily. Attis could swear that Mayluna had this happy look on her face under her hood, as he asked, "What do you want Mayluna, or did you just come by for me to beat your ass?"

"My, I didn't know you could be so rough Attis!" Mayluna said with feigning shock, "But then again, I guess that's why you don't have a girlfriend~!"

That hit a nerve, but Attis kept his emotions under control as he said in a calm and controlled voice, "Is there an actual reason that you came by Mayluna, or did you just come here to annoy me?!"

Mayluna tilted her head and said, "Actually, I just came here to tell you that I'm going to be breaking down this world's barrier a bit, since that half-sealed Keyhole has been giving me trouble…"

'Half-sealed Keyhole? What is she talking about?' Attis thought to himself. However, before he could say anything Mayluna said, "Well, I guess that it for spoilers! I can't let everything out of the bag, now can I, tehe!" With that she disappeared in a Corridor of Darkness, leaving Attis by himself as Aqualis disappeared from his hand.

Shaking his head, Attis thought, 'Man, she is one total nutcase at times. The only times I've seen her really serious is when she fights, and that's not exactly reassuring. It's lucky that she's not together with Ansem the Destroyer, or else the worlds would be in a whole lot of trouble.

'…Wait, if she's breaking down the barrier, then that means she can bring stronger Heartless to this world! Shoot, that's not good! But I can't do anything about it either, just get stronger and hope that I can fend off the stronger Heartless! But I wonder, what did she mean by a half-sealed Keyhole?' Attis just shook his head and headed back to his room to call it a night.

* * *

_Maki's restaurant_

The next evening, things were quite busy at Maki's restaurant, since it was a prime spot to watch the meteor shower that was suppose to happen later tonight. How they knew that a meteor shower was suppose to happen was beyond Attis' guesses, but he knew that Mayluna would be opening the world's barrier a bit to let in more Heartless.

It annoyed him to no end that he would be unable to do anything about it, but he kept his focus as he continued serving the customers. He was thankful for Kaito's help in all of this, since things really seemed to get busy.

Attis noticed Lucia, Hanon, Rina, Nikora, and Hippo come in, and they were seated to a table that was located outside. He didn't have a chance to talk to them as he was held up on orders, and at the same time, Kaito went out to do the deliveries. Looking outside he saw a whole lot of couples looking out to the ocean and thought, 'Not surprising that a meteor shower would be a romantic night out…'

He couldn't help but feel a bit jealous at the whole scene, but shook it off as Attis went back to work. Then he noticed that the three Mermaid Princesses suddenly ran off, and Attis had a sneaking suspicion that they were going to sing something in their idol forms.

True enough, Lucia, Hanon, and Rina appeared on the beach below the patio and were in a pose, ready to sing. Lucia announced something and Maki had a confused look on his face as he said, "That's weird, I never requested an idol concert."

"Don't worry about it Maki-san. Those three are doing this voluntarily and for free." Attis assured him.

"Do you know those three Attis?" Maki asked.

Attis nodded and trailed off saying, "You can say that…"

The trio started singing Super Love Songs and the audience loved it. In the middle of it Maki noticed something and pointed upwards shouting, "Everyone, look there!"

Everyone looked up and saw the meteor shower starting, and it looked amazing with the song going. The people looked amazed, though Attis felt something in his heart and thought, 'What was that? Maybe the Keyblade is trying to tell me something…'

Looking around, he saw people together; even Nikora and Maki were standing together, as well as Hippo and a girl he didn't know. He thought, 'It's times like these that make me feel really alone…'

The song ended at the same time the meteor shower ended, with the crowd cheering. For some reason, Attis didn't feel the same way and he had a somber look on his face. He went up to Maki and said, "Maki-san, I'm not feeling very well. Could you let me off early?"

Maki and Nikora turned to Attis and Maki saw the odd look on Attis' face. He replied, "Sure Attis, you can take the night off. The meteor shower ended, so things will ease up."

"Thanks Maki-san." Attis said gratefully. As he walked over to the beach and started walking away, Maki said, "I feel sorry for him…"

"What was that Maki-san?" Nikora asked him.

"Attis looks so lonely," Maki replied, "From what I see, he's been alone for most of his life. I can see that he's friendly to people like Lucia-chan and Kaito-kun, but it doesn't look like he has a true friend like the friendship between Lucia-chan, Hanon-chan, and Rina-chan. Adding with the facts that he's an orphan and living by himself, it's a wonder that he's not depressed…"

Nikora knew the truth about him, but couldn't help but feel that there was some truth in Maki's words. She wondered if she should talk about this with the others as she looked into the sky.

* * *

_Beachside_

Walking along the beach, Attis was busy trying to clear his thoughts when he saw the water starting to glow with a rainbow color. Wondering what was up with this phenomenon, Attis suddenly felt something, like he was being pulled to a certain place.

With the feeling getting stronger, Attis threw on his black cloak and put the Red Shell necklace around his neck. Then he jumped into the water, letting the feeling lead him.

Nearby, Hanon and Rina were in the water, admiring the rainbow water when Hanon saw out of the corner of her eye Attis swimming to someplace. She pointed it out saying, "Hey, isn't that Attis? Where's he going?"

Looking where Hanon was pointing, Rina replied, "Let's go and find out."

Nodding at that, Hanon and Rina started swimming, tailing Attis not far behind. Attis himself didn't notice as he was too busy trying to follow the feeling that kept tugging at him.

Soon Attis ended up on a flat rock and he stood up on top of it. Hanon and Rina kept their distance, wondering what was going on. The rainbow light was around too, and Attis said out loud, "Okay, what the heck am I doing here?"

Suddenly, some of the rainbow light gathered into an orb, much to Attis, Hanon, and Rina's surprise, and it floated over to Attis and hovered in front of him. Hoping it wasn't dangerous, Attis held his hand out and the orb floated down into his hand, transforming into a Keychain.

Surprised at this, Attis hanged the Keychain to take a better look, and both Hanon and Rina managed to see it too. The Keychain's chain was blue in color, and at the end of it was a small symbol that looked like ocean waves in a rainbow color, the same as the color as the water during the phenomenon.

Suddenly, Aqualis appeared in Attis' other hand and both the Keyblade and Keychain started glowing, resonating with each other. Getting the idea, Attis put the Keychain at the base of Aqualis, and the two connected. There was a flash of light and the three had to shield their eyes from it.

When the light died, Attis opened his eyes, and saw the complete form of Aqualis, though it's appearance appeared unchanged. Looking at the Keychain he said to himself, "So this is Aqualis' complete form? I did wonder why this Keyblade lacked a Keychain, so I guess that mystery is solved…"

That's when the Red Pearl started glowing and it automatically fused wit Aqualis, and at the same time a tune started up. It started off and Attis noticed that it was coming from Aqualis, or more specifically, the Red Pearl. Hanon and Rina were curious about it too as the song started.

_You're getting me, too many things, lately_

_ Your all I need (oh no)_

_ You smiled at me, and said_

_ Don't get me wrong I love you _

_ But does that mean I have to meet your father_

_ When we are older you'll understand_

_ What I meant when I said no_

_ I don't think life is quite that simple_

_ When you walk away you don't hear me say_

_ Please, oh baby, don't go_

_ Simple and clean is the way that you're making me feel tonight_

_ It's hard to let it go_

_ Hold me, whatever lies beyond this morning_

_ Is a little later on_

_ Regardless of warnings, the future doesn't scare me at all_

_ Nothing's like before_

_ Hold me, whatever lies beyond this morning_

_ Is a little later on_

_ Regardless of warnings, the future doesn't scare me at all_

_ Nothing's like before_

With that the song faded after a bit, the Red Pearl de-fused from Aqualis and went back into its shell necklace. As Aqualis vanished, Attis thought, 'I recognize that song, though I wonder why the Red Pearl acted the way it did. Maybe the pearl's trying to cheer me up or something…it is one of my favorites…'

Shrugging it off, Attis jumped back into the water and swam back to shore. Meanwhile, Hanon and Rina were just floating there, as Hanon said, "That was quite the song, wasn't it Rina?"

"Yeah, I admit it was pretty cool, though I wonder what all of this means." Rina replied.

"Well, just floating here won't solve anything. Let's head back to shore and meet up with Lucia. Who knows what might happen if we leave her alone with Kaito-kun for too long. We'll figure out what just happened later." Hanon told Rina.

Rina nodded and the two of them headed for shore, with Hanon humming Simple and Clean as they swam.

* * *

_Dreamstate – Keypers HQ_

Attis was dreaming again, and this time it was about his early days with the Keypers. After training for half a year with his Keyblade, Halit came up to him and said, "Looks like you're doing great kid. I guess being the wielder of the Castle Key really helps."

"Don't call me kid Halit. You're not that much older than I am." Attis said, irritated.

"Hey, we're five years apart, and that gives me the right too." Halit argued half-jokingly.

Rolling his eyes, Attis asked, "So, why are you here? I doubt you're here just to tell me that."

"Wow, you're way too serious for your own good," Halit commented, "Anyway, I'm here to tell you that you're being put into a squad now that you're training's complete."

Attis was confused by that and asked, "A squad? What do you mean by that?"

Halit looked at him like he just grew a third eye and replied, "Don't tell me they didn't tell you anything about it?! Anyway, a squad is made up of three Keyblade warriors. The reason for this is that a squad of three is small enough to move quickly, while big enough to hold it's own against tough enemies."

That explanation seemed to satisfy Attis as three people approached. One was a man in his early forties, with short black hair and brownish green eyes. He was wearing what looked like simple grey robes and was accompanied by a boy and a girl.

The boy had short brown hair that was slightly spiked, and there was a thin, but long ponytail at the back. His eyes were lime green, and he was wearing a black sleeved shirt with a navy blue vest over it and blue jeans that looked a bit baggy. To top it off he had a chain around his neck that a heart with two Kingdom Keyblades over it, the Keypers' symbol.

The girl had shoulder-length black hair that had blue highlights near her bangs, and she had soft red eyes. She wore a white t-shirt and had a black tank top shirt over it, and black leather pants with a blue trench skirt. Both of them had grey sneakers like the ones Attis wore, and he wondered if it was standard issue with the Keypers.

Halit looked at the older man and did a light bow as he said, "Master Lerain, it's good to see you."

Lerain nodded and said, "Halit, you're looking good. I take it that's the boy who will be in this squad?"

"Yes Master Lerain. This is Attis Hale, the boy that wields the Castle Keyblade." Halit told them. Attis bowed towards Lerain as he said, "Yes, I've heard about him. Anyway, Attis, you'll be working with these two from now on."

Both the boy and girl stepped up as Lerain introduced them, "The boy here is Salic Wyner, and the girl's name is Aluraine Olteria."

Salic and Aluraine went up to Attis as Aluraine said in a cheery voice, "It's nice to meet you Attis." Salic added, "Hope you won't slow us down Attis."

"Salic!" Aluraine reprimanded, while Salic just smirked. Attis couldn't help but feel slightly annoyed when they heard Lerain say, "Salic will be the squad leader, since he's two years older than Aluraine and Attis, not to mention he's had the proper training. Halit, you can show them the ropes, since I have a meeting to attend to."

"Yes Master Lerain." Halit said. Lerain nodded and walked off, leaving Halit with the three young Keyblade warriors. He smirked and said, "Now, where to start?"


	21. Beachside Competiton

Chapter 21 – Beachside Competition

_Pearl Piari_

"…And so, that's about the gist of it." Maki told Nikora and Taki.

Maki, Attis, Nikora, Taki were sitting at a table in Pearl Piari's dining hall, with Lucia, Hanon, and Rina listening nearby. Attis sat there as Maki explained the mermaid contest to the residents of Pearl Piari. From what he heard from Maki earlier, he said that he was going to try and get Lucia, Hanon, Rina, and Nikora to participate, since he was worried about the lack of participants.

Attis was roped in as one of the planners by Maki since he had the free time on his hands. He winced when Taki said something about entering, and it didn't get better when Maki tired to defuse the situation. Luckily for him and the others, Taki was only joking around, though Attis thought, 'Maybe she was half-joking around?'

As Maki sighed in relief, Taki said, "Lucia, Hanon, Rina, in order for the Mermaid Contest to get fired up, I want the three of you to enter!"

Lucia and Hanon agreed to it with enthusiasm, but Rina seemed skeptical and asked, "Why do I have to?"

Maki decided to mention, "Oh, I forgot to tell you that the winner gets a brand new flat-screen TV. Please give it your all."

Rina had her back turned to the others but she smirked as she thought with confidence, 'Victory is mine.'

At the same time Attis sighed inwardly and thought, 'I'm starting to wonder why I'm doing these things. I guess being stuck on this world is starting to sink in.' He watched as Nikora got all embarrassed about participating in the competition as well, and Maki's words just made her blush deeper.

Suddenly, a thought came to Attis, 'You know, it's ironic, mermaids entering the Mermaid Contest. It's quite funny…'

Attis smirked to himself as Maki got up and said, "Well, we need to get going, since the stage is being built today, and we need to go supervise for a bit. C'mon Attis."

"Alright, see you ladies at the competition." Attis said as he waved. He followed Maki out the door but when he passed Taki he whispered, "Mermaids entering the Mermaid Contest, what irony."

Taki couldn't help but smile at that as Attis left Pearl Piari with Maki. She turned to the others and said, "Now everyone should get ready for the contest tomorrow."

* * *

_Beachside_

Attis and Maki were at the beach, overseeing the construction of a stage that was going to host the competition. From what Attis heard, it was going to be a last event of the summer and it was being held tomorrow, though the workers looked like they were hurrying to complete it.

Then Kaito passed by and saw the commotion that was going on, so he called over to them, "Maki-san, Attis, what's going on?"

Both of them turned to Kaito as Maki explained, "Oh Kaito, we're having our summer's last event, the Mermaid Contest." Then he added, "Lucia-chan and Hanon-chan are going to be in it too."

Attis noticed the odd look on Kaito's face but brushed it out of his thoughts as he turned back to watch the construction. After Kaito left, Maki said, "I need to head back to the restaurant to check on things. Do you mind if you stay here and watch over what's going on for the time being?"

"Sure, it's no problem Maki." Attis replied. Maki nodded and walked off, leaving Attis by himself to watch the construction.

About an hour later, Attis was still watching the workers construct the stage when he saw a kid with short brown hair walk by and stop in front of the stage. Curious, he walked up to the boy just in time to hear him say, "A mermaid contest in a town with mermaids… What if a real mermaid enters…? Hey, it could happen!"

That got Attis curious, but before he could say anything, the boy ran off. He scratched his head as he thought, 'For some reason, I have a bad feeling… Beh, maybe I'm just imagining things again….'

* * *

_Gaito's castle_

Mayluna was in one of the rooms busy thinking of something. There was only a Shadow with her and she was petting it as she thought, 'Hmm, even after bringing down part of this world's barrier, it's still hard to bring in some of the stronger Heartless…'

That's when she heard echoing coming from the throne room where Noel and Coco were held and said, "Must be those Dark Lovers again. They really know how to argue." Then a Cheshire grin appeared on her face and she said, "Fu fu, maybe I should pull something on them." Then in an instant her grin faded and she said, "No, I have better things to do."

She snapped her fingers and two Invisibles and an Orcus appeared in the room. Mayluna seemed pleased with their appearance and she gave another snap, making them vanish. The arguing had gotten louder but Mayluna ignored it thinking, 'I wonder how that Gaito puts up with them…'

Then Mayluna's thoughts turned to Sara, Noel, and Coco, thinking, 'I know the locations of all but the Purple Mermaid Princess. Interesting how she managed to get away from the Heartless I sent to capture her, quite interesting… Also, the Orange Mermaid Princess, Sara, she thinks she can stay hidden from me by just avoiding contact with me, how foolish…not to mention that she thinks she immersed herself in darkness, how laughable… This castle is partially immersed in darkness, and thanks to that, I have eyes where I need them…fu, fu, fu…'

"Hmm, I wonder how I can finally rid myself of that Attis. He's been a thorn in my side for far too long, and I'm not at optimal strength yet." Then she turned her head to the door and said in a louder voice, "Do you have a plan, whoever is behind the door?"

The person behind the door, who happened to be Sara, jumped and quickly made her walk away from the door. She thought to herself, 'How did she know I was there?! I need to be more careful…'

Mayluna smirked and thought, 'As I said, I have eyes where I need them. Well, I guess I'd better get back to the plan…'

* * *

_Beachside – competition stage_

The next day, the Mermaid Contest was underway, and both Attis and Maki were there with the other employees, going over final checks and getting the contestants registered. They were at the front of the stage in their seats when Taki came around and asked, "Is that seat taken?"

The seat on Maki's right was empty so he replied, "Not at all Taki-san."

Attis was sitting to Maki's left and he asked, "So it looks like the whole Mermaid contest is quite a hit, isn't it?"

Looking around, most of the audience was made up of guys, making Attis wonder as Maki replied, "It sure is, and from what I hear, there are quite the number of contestants."

A number of minutes passed by when a couple of employees rushed by, making Maki ask, "What's the matter?"

One of them stopped and said, "We got word that some kid entered the changing rooms and started shooting the contestants with a water gun."

When the employee left, Maki sat back down, letting things play out. Meanwhile Attis thought, 'A kid with a water gun? Hope that those three will be alright…'

Soon, the Mermaid contest started and Attis found watching the contestants doing their various talents to be quite entertaining. He thought, 'Quite the way to end the summer… Ha, I sure miss being back at HQ…wonder if everyone's doing alright. Maybe Halit became an instructor. Now that wouldn't be so surprising…'

Things went on smoothly, until entry number twenty-six showed up. A woman with dark brown eyes and long dark purple hair that had swirled ends walked onto the stage. The announcer said that her name was Caren, and all of a sudden, Attis had a splitting headache. It made him clutch his head and Maki noticed him in pain so he asked, "Hey, are you alright Attis?"

The pain subsided and Attis replied, "I-I'm fine Maki-san, just a slight pain." Attis looked back up to see that Caren had already finished performing her talent. For some reason though, he thought he saw the girl give him an odd look before she walked off the stage. He thought, 'Now that was weird…maybe I'm imagining things.'

He shook his head and continued watching the competition. As it went on, Maki asked, "So, how's the competition so far?"

"It's looking quite good so far." Attis replied. He cracked his neck, while part of his mind was thinking about the sudden headache he felt when he heard Caren's name. Shaking his head he thought, 'I'll get to the bottom of this sooner or later…'

Soon, Kaito came by around entry number thirty, and he sat down beside Attis saying, "So, did I miss anything good?"

"There were quite the talents up on stage Kaito. You should've seen them." Attis replied.

"Sorry, I had to take care of my cousin. He made a commotion in the changing rooms a while back." Kaito told him.

"You're cousin made that commotion?!" Attis asked, sounding quite surprised. Kaito nodded and said, "Yeah, let's just hope he can stay out of trouble…"

From the sound of Kaito's voice, Attis figured that he was expecting something to happen as they watched the competition. Soon it was Hanon's turn and she said, "Entry number thirty-five, Hanon Hoshou here. Pleased to meet everyone!" Then she did a pose and said, "Now I'll be doing an Aikido performance!"

That surprised Attis and while watching Hanon, he thought, 'Dang, that girl's got some moves!'

After finishing up, it was Lucia's turn to go up on stage. Seeing Hippo in her arm, Attis thought, 'Now this outta be interesting…'

"Entry number thirty-six, Lucia Nanami. I will now do ventriloquy." Lucia introduced herself. The starting act was kind of weak in Attis' opinion, but it got a lot better when Hippo looked like he was panicking and talking to Lucia at the same time. Apparently, the crowd bought it as part of the act and started cheering for her. That nearly made Attis laugh a bit but he managed to hold it back.

The next on was Rina, and she said, "Entry number 37, Rina Toin, will do a funny picture story."

Attis got curious about that as Rina explained what kind of mermaids she didn't like using pictures. The first one was Lucia trying to swim with a floatation ring, the second one showed Lucia running on a track in her mermaid form. The last one showed Hanon with the bottom part of her body being eaten by a giant fish.

The crowd loved it, though Attis was practically cracking up at the images as he thought, 'Oh man, I hope Lucia and Hanon don't find out about those pictures!'

After Rina, it was Nikora's turn, "Entry number thirty-eight, Nikora Nanami's three minute cooking!"

'Wonder how Nikora-san's going to pull it off…?' Attis thought to himself. After Nikora told the audience what she was going to make, someone in the audience asked, "Can you really do that in three minutes?"

"Yes! For that reason, I chose this for the impatient people." Then Nikora whipped out the completed dish out from the microwave and showed it to everyone, making Attis think, 'Oh man, that's funny…'

Attis started to relax until someone he recognized walked up onto the stage saying, "Entry number forty-two, Izuri. I'll be doing water tricks!"

As Izuru summoned small water dragons while posing, Attis thought, "Isn't that Izuru? What's she doing here? Maybe it's just a coincidence." The audience however, loved the performance as Izuru walked off the stage.

Then the next one said, "Entry number forty-three, Eri. My special talent is to spin!" Then Eriru started spinning and making different faces, while Attis thought, 'Maybe Eriru came with Izuru?'

Attis pinched the bridge of his nose as the next one walked up onto the stage saying, "Entry number forty-four, Mari. I'll show everyone an ice illusion!"

Maria created a number of ice crystals and started juggling them entertaining the audience. Attis shook his head and thought, 'Okay, this isn't a coincidence anymore…though I got to admit, Maria does look cute up there…'

Considering how the pattern went, Attis wasn't the slightest bit surprised to see Yuri walk up onto the stage. She introduced herself, "Entry number forty-five, Yuriri! I'm going to act like a mermaid for the Mermaid Contest!"

Wondering what Yuri was going to do, Attis was nearly floored when he, as well as the rest of the audience, heard Yuri say while posing, "How about an encore!"

There was a moment of silence, since no one except Attis knew what she was referring too. Yuri tried again by saying, "Pichi Pichi Voice Live Start!" When no one said anything, Yuri kept going, "Love Shower Pitch!"

Yuri kept going with it, and Attis was on the verge of breaking out in laughter, though he managed to hold it in with great difficulty. It wasn't until Kaito poked him to see what was wrong that a burst of laughter escaped Attis.

Everyone's attention turned to him, including Yuri who thought, 'Who is that laughing? Weird, why does he look familiar…? Oh well, I guess it's time to go to Plan B.'

Suddenly, Yuri dropped onto the floor of the stage and said, "Oh no, what am I going to do?"

That caught everyone's attention as Yuri rubbed her leg and said, "I hurt my tail being chased by water demons, and now I'm stranded on a beach! If a human sees me, I'll turn to bubbles, but if I go back into the water those water demons will catch me! What should I do?"

Yuri made a cute face at the last part, and her dramatic performance earned quite the cheers from the audience, who seemed to like it very much. Attis managed to calm himself down and said, "I'm fine, just fine."

After all the contestants had gone, which was over fifty in total, only twelve women passed onto the next round. They included Lucia, Hanon, Rina, Nikora, Caren, Izuru, Eriru, Yuri, and Maria. On stage, Attis could tell that Lucia, Hanon, and Rina were getting suspicious about the Dark Lovers behind them, though out of the corner of his eye, he thought that he saw a boy peeking out from one of the makeshift walls.

The instant he felt something bad was going to happen, a boy who Attis recognized as the kid from yesterday came running up to the stage with a hose in hand. Kaito was surprised as he shouted, "Makoto?!"

"Your cousin?" Attis guessed. Kaito nodded as Makoto turned on the hose and started spraying at the stage. Everyone got out of the way except the Dark Lovers, who got the full blast of the water. However Makoto lost control of the hose and it started spraying everywhere, causing panic.

Attis decided to take action and jumped forward, trying to get to the hose. Makoto crawled out of the way as Attis grabbed onto the hose, trying to get things under control. He managed to turn off the water, though not before getting completely drenched when he accidentally turned the hose onto himself.

With the hose off, everyone's attention was completely on him as they applauded his effort to stop the hose. During the commotion, the Dark Lovers ran after Makoto who was running away, with Lucia, Hanon, and Rina running after them. The other contestants were back on the stage as they approached the edge to see if Attis was alright. That's when Maki and Kaito walked up to him as Maki asked, "Are you alright Attis?"

Hearing Attis' name, Caren stiffened a bit, but it was unnoticeable as Attis replied, "I'm fine Maki-san, though I think I could use a towel."

"Of course, why don't you help him Kaito? I'll try and get things under control here." Maki said. Kaito nodded and he led Attis to the change room area, not noticing that Caren was watching the two walk away with curious eyes.

In the change room, Attis managed to dry himself off while Kaito said, "Sorry about this Attis, but I need to find Makoto. I think I saw him being chased by some of the contestants that he drenched."

"Go ahead, they went in that direction." Attis replied, pointing the direction out to him. Kaito nodded and said, "Thanks Attis."

Kaito ran out of the changing room, and Attis was busy drying himself off with a towel when he saw something black appear outside. Knowing what that black thing must be, Attis summoned Aqualis to his hand as he put the towel he had down on the bench he was on.

Outside he saw the black thing enter the nearby woods and followed it. He kept going until he found himself face to face with an Invisible. The demonic looking Pureblood Heartless looked at him with it's sword in its hand as Attis thought, 'Oh man, an Invisible. One of the stronger Heartless…oh well, it's going down anyway!'

Attis made the first move and swiped at the Invisible, which blocked Attis' strike with its sword. It pushed him back, and made a charge at Attis sword first. He managed to dodge it, though the sword grazed his arm, and it made him wince a bit.

The Invisible started using retreat and strike tactics, making Attis run a lot after it, getting a few blows in. Then it used it's vanishing tactic, and the sword made a couple of strikes against Attis, making him dodge all of them but got nicked in a few places anyway.

After a while, both Attis and the Invisible were worn down, and Attis said, "Time to take you out!"

He charged right at it, but all of a sudden, the Invisible warped out, making Attis stop before he ran head first into a tree. Looking around, Attis saw that the Invisible was completely gone, which made him think, 'Where did it go? Or is this Mayluna taunting me again?!'

Giving out a sigh, he headed back to the change room and used a Fire spell to dry himself off. Maki came by a moment later to check on him and asked, "Are you alright Attis?"

"Yeah, I'm better. What's going on with the competition?" Attis asked.

"Well, seven of the contestants, which include Lucia-chan, Hanon-chan, and Rina-chan, have been disqualified for leaving the contest early. Other than that, everything's in order." Maki told him.

"That's a shame…but I guess it can't be helped." Attis said as he put the towel over his head, "Let's go back then Maki-san."

Maki nodded and the two went back to the contest. It was around the beginning of sunset when the winner was announced, who happened to be Caren. Nikora was now with them, holding a bag of dried mushrooms as a consolation prize for second place, which made Attis wonder if Maki ran out of money thanks to the T.V. as the main prize.

Shaking his head, Attis decided to leave early, telling everyone that he was going home. As he left, Caren took a quick glance at him before she kept on smiling for the audience as the winner of the contest.

* * *

_Attis' Apartment_

"Welcome bac-! Whoa, what the heck happened to you kupo?" Mogie said, seeing Attis' disheveled state.

Attis sighed and replied, "Had a rough day Mogie, that's all." He walked in and settled into his apartment. That's when he caught an odd smell and asked, "Uh Mogie? What's that smell?"

The Moogle fidgeted a bit before he replied, "Um, well, actually it's the result of a failed synthesis I tried to do kupo. Sorry about the smell kupo, but I did try to air out the place before you got back kupo."

From what Attis could tell, the smell was faint, though it was still a bit strong near the door to Aine and Mogie's room. He went over to the door and almost opened it, but Mogie frantically flew over and stopped him saying, "You don't want to go in their right now kupo. Just give it a day kupo."

Looking at the Moogle, Attis let it go, since he had something else on his mind. He went over to his room and said, "Could you prepare dinner Mogie? I have something to work on."

Attis went into his room before he could hear a reply, and closed the door behind him. Sitting on the couch, his thoughts turned to the Caren girl and the headache he had. He started to get frustrated and thought, 'Grr… The pain must have something to do with my lost memories, but what does it have to do with that Caren girl?'

Thinking about it a bit more he came to the conclusion, 'Maybe she reminds me of something from the past. Her name is the same as Karen's, though with a slight sound difference, maybe that's what caused the headache. Maybe I miss them more than I think, but something feels off from that.'

Suddenly, he heard two voices he had never heard before say in the back of his mind, 'It's a promise Onii-chan!'

Baffled at the sudden voices, he thought, 'What the heck was that?' The two voices continued to stump him as he left his room for dinner, though he had a sneaking suspicion that it had to deal with his lost memories.


	22. A Surprising Confrontation

Chapter 22 – A Surprising Confrontation

_Forest camp_

"What the heck am I doing here anyway?" Attis asked himself as he watched the barbeque. From what he had heard, Taro was appointed to be the substitute homeroom teacher, and this whole welcoming party was Hanon's idea. The food was ordered from Maki's restaurant and Maki sent him with the food to the site where the party would take place.

Having set up all the equipment for the barbeque, Attis looked around at the class that Lucia, Hanon, and Rina were with. Kaito and his friends were among them, and they all were having a blast with the party. This made Attis feel quite out of place, even though he was the one that delivered the food for the party.

Sighing, he looked around to check out the place, until his eyes rested on a certain girl with long purple hair leaning on a tree, looking up into the sky. Attis thought, 'That's…Caren-san…right?'

Remembering the odd look Caren gave him back at the Mermaid Contest, a pang of pain flashed in his head and Attis clutched his head for a second before it disappeared. He decide to shift away quietly while he saw Lucia, Hanon, Rina, and Taro together, with Hanon latched onto Taro. Unfortunately he didn't get far when one of the male students shouted, "Hey you! The one that brought the barbeque stuff."

Everyone turned to see who it was as Attis turned around and asked, "Yeah? You need something?"

The guy that called him replied, "You're a swordsman right? I mean you practice kendo don't you? You have that kind of air around you…"

Raising an eyebrow Attis said, "…And if I do?"

"Well, I was wondering if we could have a fight right now between the two of us," The guy replied, "I always try to find people that I can challenge so I can get stronger."

What the guy just said couldn't help but reminded Attis of a Keyblader back in the Keypers that challenged every Keyblade warrior on the pretense of training to get stronger. He smirked and said, "Well, why not? It's been a while since I've been challenged like that."

"Hey! I want in too!" Another guy said as he ran up to them. Attis had an idea and said, "Well, why don't I take the two of you on at the same time? The barbeque is about to start so it'll save time."

"Well, aren't you the confident one." The first guy said, "My name's Kuyo Sasami, and he's Osuro Kiryu. What's your name?"

The three of them were given wooden swords and Attis took two of them, holding one in each hand. Caren, who walked around, saw the pose Attis was doing and thought, 'It must be a coincidence, for that person to look like him…'

Attis pointed on of the swords at the two guys and said, "The name's Attis Hale, but you can call me Attis, and I'll be the one schooling you two in the art of swords."

Some of the girls giggled at that while some of the guys looked amused. Kaito and his friends got curious about the whole deal, while Lucia and the others looked worried. Hanon turned to Taro to see if he would stop it but he too had an interested look on his face. Caren was practically shocked as she thought, 'Attis Hale?! But that's…!'

A clearing was made with the students lining the edges. Attis, Kuyo, and Osuro were in the center as Attis said, "How about this? Whoever loses their sword first and it hits the ground loses automatically. As for me, I'll lose if I lose either of mine. How's that?"

"Sounds perfect to us!" Osuro said. Kuyo nodded and Attis got into a stance saying, "Okay then, the two of you can go first."

The two students didn't waste any time and they instantly went on the offensive. The two made a swing right at Attis and he blocked each of them with his swords and pushed them back quite easily. The students were quite impressed as Attis called out, "I hope you two are better than that, 'cause if you're not, then I got this in the bag!"

"Hey, don't underestimate us man!" Osuro shouted back.

"Yeah, we're just warming up!" Kuyo added.

Attis smirked as he twirled both his swords in his hands before gripped them saying with a grin, "Then show me what the two of you are made of!"

* * *

_Gaito's castle_

After Gaito stormed out of the throne room, Maria desperately wanted to do something but she was currently at a loss at what to actually do. The other Dark Lovers left the room a bit depressed, while Maria thought, 'Ha, I guess I don't have much of a choice…'

Maria made her way to the part of the castle where Mayluna currently resided. As she got closer, she had an odd chill go down her spine, which was weird for her as her element was ice. She thought, 'Something's weird about this part of the castle for some reason. It feels like I'm being watched…'

When she reached the door to Mayluna's room, Maria was about to knock when Mayluna's voice said in a sing-song voice, "You don't need to knock Ma-ri-ya! Please come in!"

Maria nearly freaked out as she thought, 'H-how did she know it was me?!'

She shook her head of that thought as Maria opened the door and carefully walked inside. The door closed behind her as she was treated to an interesting scene. Mayluna was sitting on a chair with a Shadow on her lap, which she happened to be petting. In front of her was a table that had a crystal ball on top, and it had darkness swirling inside it.

Mayluna was looking at it when she looked up to Maria and asked in a calm voice, "So, what brings you here Maria?"

There was a bit of hesitancy in Maria, mainly due to Mayluna's sudden change in attitude, but she shook her head before asking in a strong voice, "I need your help Miss Mayluna."

An amused look formed on Mayluna's face, but her voice didn't match it as she replied, "Hmm…I guess it's alright…" She snapped her fingers and five Blue Rhapsodies popped out above her, though they looked different than regular Blue Rhapsodies. They were navy blue in color and were slightly bigger.

"These are Blue Rhapsodies that I've strengthened. They should be able to aid you, since their specialty is Blizzard magic." Then Mayluna turned to the Blue Rhapsodies and said, "You are to obey her commands, understood?"

There was a level of forcefulness in Mayluna's voice that Maria noticed, while the Blue Rhapsodies bobbled up and down, looking like they understand. Then they flew over to Maria's side as Mayluna said, "There you go now. It's all I can offer you, or else the Heartless would devour your heart, despite my commands." Then her tone turned back into a playful one as she waved and said, "Well, have fun with whatever you're doing, Ma-ri-ya!"

Maria just sided as she bowed towards Mayluna in gratefulness and turned to leave when Mayluna called out to her seriously, "Oh, just one more thing Maria!"

"What is it Miss Mayluna?" Maria asked politely, turning around.

Putting a finger to her cheek, Mayluna asked, "It's just you, me, Lord Gaito, Izuru, Eriru, and Yuri in this castle right? There isn't anyone else I haven't met right?"

"…That's right, there's no one else here except us. Although I think I overheard Gaito-sama say that he's bringing in some help, but I think that's just nonsense." Maria replied.

Mayluna nodded and said, "…I see then… Thank you Maria."

Maria just bowed her head and left the room, leaving Mayluna and the Shadow on her lap by themselves. She couldn't help but smile deviously and say, "My, this castle sure likes to keep secrets, doesn't it?"

* * *

_Forest campground_

The fight's been going on for about ten minutes, and Attis couldn't help but feel a bit winded. Kuyo and Osuro were quite stubborn and skilled, he admitted to himself, and he sort of underestimated them at the same time. He had just beaten Osuro by knocking his wooden sword out from underneath him with a tricky strike. He was now on the sidelines cheering Kuyo on, who was panting, but still looked confident.

Attis was breaking a sweat as he still gripped his two wooden swords. He saw that the crowd was enjoying the show, and even Taro seemed interested. Lucia and Hanon looked a bit worried for some reason, while Rina looked on with an indifferent look, though she watched the fight with interest, hoping to catch a few techniques.

Out of the corner of his eye, Attis saw Caren staring at him and he again felt a twinge of pain from the back of his head, making him wince and lower his guard. Kuyo took advantage of this opening and tried to attack Attis' wrists, aiming to make him drop either of his swords.

Attis managed to snap back into focus and stop Kuyo's blow with an awkward block, nearly letting the grip on his swords slip. Kuyo looked at him through the deadlock and asked, "Are you alright Attis-san? You looked like you were in pain just now."

"I'm fine Sasami-san, but you should be more worried about yourself now!" Attis pushed back Kuyo with more force than the usual amount of force, catching Kuyo off guard. That gave Attis the chance to swing both his swords at Kuyo's with full force, and the blows caused Kuyo to lose his grip.

The wooden sword spun up into the air before it fell to the ground point first, making it stuck standing in the dirt. Meanwhile Attis pointed his own at Kuyo, who somehow slipped to his knees in defeat. Attis smiled and said, "I guess that's a set match, right?"

Kuyo got up and said, "Yes, you win Attis-san." The others around them applauded as Osuro went over to Kuyo while Attis returned the swords to them. Looking around he saw Kaito, Taro, Lucia, Hanon, Rina, and the other students applauding. He then turned to Caren, but saw that she had somehow disappeared already, making him think, 'Where did she go…?'

All of a sudden, Hanon shouted, "Okay now, it's time to start the barbeque!"

Everyone shouted in agreement and the kebobs were currently being cooked. Attis somehow was roped into helping with the cooking, though he didn't mind it too much. As he helped, he looked around the campground for any sign of Caren, however she was nowhere in sight. He thought, 'Where did she go…?'

Some of the students took over the barbeque halfway, and Attis took a bunch of cooked kebobs with him and took a walk. He stopped by near Rina and held out a couple saying, "Want some Rina?"

Rina turned and took them saying, "Thanks Attis." She started eating, while Attis took another look around before asking, "Hey, have seen that girl with long, dark purple hair around?"

Swallowing, Rina replied, "I saw her earlier when Mitsuki-sensei was staring at her, but she walked away and I haven't seen her since, except during your fight. Why, do you know her?"

"No, but she's been giving me these odd looks every now and again. I just want to know what her deal is." Attis told her as he took a bit out of his kebob.

That got Rina curious for a bit, but she didn't say anything as the cooked kebobs were being taken by the students. They watched as both Hanon and Lucia tried to feed Taro and Kaito with more kebobs then they could handle. Attis couldn't help but feel a bit amused by that until he saw something floating around the trees nearby.

Turning his head, Attis saw a Blue Rhapsody floating around one of the trees. For some reason though, the Blue Rhapsody looked different, being navy blue in color and being a bit bigger.

Finishing up his kebobs quickly, Attis was about to leave when Rina asked, "Where are you going?"

"Heartless trouble." Attis simply replied, before he took off after the Blue Rhapsody, leaving a confused Rina behind.

* * *

_Forest_

The Blue Rhapsody had flown farther into the forest after Attis had spotted it. When he was deep enough into the forest, he threw on his black cloak and hooded himself before he summoned Aqualis.

Seeing the Blue Rhapsody turn a corner, Attis ran right after it. He kept running until he reached a small clearing. There he found two Blue Rhapsodies waiting there, and saw that they were the same navy blue color and larger than usual. He thought, 'This must be Mayluna's handiwork somehow…'

Suddenly, the two Blue Rhapsodies fired off ice spells that exploded into spiked pillars of ice when they landed on the ground, forcing Attis to dodge them to avoid being skewered. HE thought, 'Those were Blizzaga level spells! These things aren't joking around!'

Attis ran forward to engage the Heartless while dodging the spells that they were being cast at him. Soon, various parts of the clearing were frozen solid as Attis gave the Blue Rhapsodies a finishing blow after knocking them around. He shook off some frost off of Aqualis as he said, "They sure were tough…"

Suddenly, Attis felt a sudden surge of energy and he turned around saying, "Huh?!"

The two Blue Rhapsodies were glowing with a blue light, and Attis had the instinct of ducking behind a tree before the Blue Rhapsodies exploded in a ball of spiked ice. Then they faded and their hearts flew into the sky. As the ice shattered, Attis thought, 'I guess I'll dub them Navy-Blue Rhapsodies for now, cause there's no way that they're simply stronger versions of Blue Rhapsodies.'

That's when the Red Shell necklace started resonating a bit and Attis felt it in his pocket. He said, "What the…? This doesn't feel like a reaction that the girls are in danger… Better check it out."

Attis started walking, with the power of the Red Pearl guiding him somehow. As he got closer he heard Maria shout, "Come out, Mermaid Princesses!"

Getting closer, Attis saw Maria and three other Navy-Blue Rhapsodies throwing ice spells all over the place. He also saw that Taro was on the ground unconscious and Caren was running off. He quickly ran over to Taro's side and got him out of the way, before he shot a Fira spell at one of the Navy-Blue Rhapsodies.

The spell weakened it, but it was still there as Attis shouted, "Looks like you're still up to no good Maria!"

"Tch, if it isn't the Keyblade Warrior! If you're around, then that means the Mermaid Princesses are nearby." Maria shouted as Attis approached. Then she shouted, "I'll let the Heartless take care of you. After him!"

The Navy-Blue Rhapsodies went after Attis, and Attis shouted, "Ha! Try to catch me if you can you dumb Heartless!"

Attis ran deeper into the trees, hoping to lure the Heartless away from where Taro was. Somehow, Caren saw the whole spectacle and followed Attis, a bit shocked after hearing about the Keyblade and the Heartless.

Leading them back to the clearing where he defeated the other two Navy-Blue Rhapsodies, Attis turned around and said, "Bring it on! I dare you to bring in something stronger!"

No sooner then he said that, an Invisible showed up between the three Navy-Blue Rhapsodies. Attis shook his head and spat, "I just had to say that…"

The fight started and Attis fought to get rid of the Navy-Blue Rhapsodies first. Caren watched the fight intensely as Attis got rid of each Navy-Blue Rhapsody and dodging their final blows. Attis managed to land a few hits on the Invisible in the process but the hits seemed to only annoy the Invisible.

Now it was a one on one fight, though the Invisible kept up its attacks. When it vanished and it's sword started flying at Attis from various angles, one of the blows knocked off Attis' hood, revealing his face to Caren. Boy was she shocked to see Attis' face, and that made wonder, 'Is it possible that it's him…? No, it can't be…it's been ten years, so he should look different, even if he did suddenly vanish after that battle…'

The fight kept on going, and both Attis and the Invisible suffered a number of blows. Attis threw a Hi-Potion over himself to heal some of his wounds from the Invisible's sword after dodging another sword strike. Then he took out the Red Pearl and said, "Red Pearl Synchro!"

There was a flash of light that blinded both the Invisible and Caren, and when the light died, Caren saw the Red Pearl in the bottom hole in Aqualis. Her eyes narrowed to it as she thought, 'The Red Pearl? But I thought that was only a myth!'

Attis made another charge and started attacking the Invisible with a mixture of strikes and magic. He took his own share of attacks though he kept his ground. When he went for another round, Attis got a lucky strike in, and somehow managed to take the Invisible's sword.

Now Attis was going on a frenzy of attacks duel-wielding Aqualis and the Invisible's sword. The Invisible couldn't take it and one final blow caused it to crash to the ground and dissolve into darkness. Attis dropped the Invisible's sword to the ground and it too vanished into darkness. Shaking his head, Aqualis vanished and Attis put the Red Pearl back into its necklace as he shouted, "I know you're there, whoever is out there. You better come out or I'll come to you."

Caren was shocked to hear that she was found out somehow. Reluctantly she came out and Attis turned to her, and seeing his worn out face gave her a brief flashback. She shook her head as Attis asked, "Wait a minute…you're that girl, Caren-san right? The one that won that Mermaid Contest… What are you doing here?!"

Attis noticed that Caren looked a bit fidgety while having a defiant expression on her face. Suddenly, Attis felt a strong twinge of pain in his head, which made him wince. That's when Caren asked, "Y-you're Attis Hale right…?"

"Last time I checked, that's my name…" Attis replied carefully. He felt that Caren was picking her words carefully and she asked, "You're Attis Hale, the Keyblade Warrior sent from the Keypers right?"

That surprised Attis and he asked, "How do you know that?! No one should know about that except the mer…maids…"

Caren's eyes widened at that and Attis noticed that her eyes were completely focused on him. That's when she asked carefully, "D-do you remember me Attis? How about Noel, my sister…?"

At the mention of Noel's name, Attis started to get a splitting headache, and the pain was evident on his face, making Caren concerned. She pressed on, "You remember right? We met ten years ago…"

"S-sorry, but I can't remember anything from t-ten years ago…" Attis struggled to say, "I…have a c-case of amnesia due to the final battle. I remember a few things, but most of it…is still missing… I somehow got jumped ten y-years into this time…" The pain started to get worse and Attis ran off shouting, "I'm sorry…!"

"W-wait!" Caren called after him, but Attis had already run off. She was a bit troubled as she repeated, "Jumped ten years into this time…so that's what happened." Caren looked into the direction and said softly, "I hope you remember me and Noel soon…Onii-chan…"

* * *

_Forest campground_

Attis had somehow managed to reach the campground and the pain was starting to clear up. Panting, he dropped to his knees in exhaustion as he realized what he just did and thought, 'W-why did I run away from her? That girl's most likely a mermaid, and she's someone I apparently met ten years ago…not to mention…ugh, I can't think anymore. I need to go home and rest…'

That's when he heard the piano playing and said, "Must be Mitsuki-san doing that recital thing Hanon mentioned. Well, I better leave a note…"

Taking out a piece of paper and a pen, he wrote a note and left it on the cooler saying to bring the cooler to Maki's restaurant later. After that Attis ran off from the campground, on his way to the nearby bus stop.

A few minutes later, Caren showed up. She stopped panting as she looked around, but she saw that Attis wasn't around. She groaned and said to herself, "Shoot, he's already gone, and I don't know where he lives…"

* * *

_Attis' Apartment_

When Attis reached his apartment, the first thing he did was call Maki to tell him the situation. After a few minutes, Attis hung up, glad that Maki understood the situation, and hoped that Attis would get better.

Mogie came around concerned about Attis, and all he requested was a medicine that helped with headaches. The Moogle got right on that as Attis collapsed on the couch. He felt that the headache pains, combined with fighting the Heartless, zapped him of most of his energy. Then Mogie came around with a cup and said, "Here kupo. This should help kupo."

"Thanks Mogie." Attis replied, taking the cup. As he drank it, a soothing feeling overcame him and he started to relax.

Sinking into the couch, Attis' thoughts started to drift to what happened earlier in the day. When they went to the confrontation with Caren, he frowned and thought, 'That girl, Caren, she might be able to help me remember the events of ten years ago. It's most likely she's a mermaid, since she knows about the Keypers and that's going to make her hard to track her down…'

Shaking his head, he continued to think, 'I'd said that I would stick around to hear Mitsuki-san play, but I'll have to think up of something to tell them…' Cracking his neck, he got comfortable on the couch as he turned on the T.V., though thoughts about the encounter still lingered in his mind.

* * *

_Gaito's Castle_

Mayluna sensed that the Heartless she gave Maria were defeated, and now she was busy eavesdropping on Maria's report to Gaito, thanks to one of her Heartless, and what she heard was quite interesting. She petted her pet Shadow as she said, "Hmm, another person who looks like Gaito…and he wields this light power too… Well, that is Gaito's problem so I won't do anything unless he says otherwise. At least the test run on the strengthened Heartless went well…"

Closing her eyes, she said, "Well, there sure are quite the few characters I've interacted with. Beings like Ansem and Maleficent sure are interesting… Oh well, I have my own thing, and they have theirs, so whatever."

Giving a sigh, Mayluna continued to look into the crystal of darkness, her eyes looking like they were searching for something.

* * *

Note: Japanese VAs can be quite surprising. I mean, Caren's voice actress Ema Kogure also voiced Akari Himuro from Night Wizard: The Animation. I listened to the character song Destiny sung by her, and I thought, 'What the heck?' Believe me, if you compared Destiny to Aurora no Kaze ni Notte, you'd be asking, 'Is this the same person?'

Anyway, this is a major update, from ch. 15-22. A huge leap I'm sure, and I'll probably be doing updates like this for now, maybe… I also edited the first fourteen chapters, and made a few changes in some of them, like the description of Solaris and Lunaria on ch. 2. Oh, and I'd appreciate reviews too, anonymous or signed, since I do want to hear if I've been doing a good job or if the story needs improvements, something like that. Thank you for reading this far, and until the next chapter!


	23. Weird Enemy

Chapter 23 – Weird Enemy

_Beachside_

Attis was passing by one weekend after work and he saw Lucia, Hanon, Rina watch Kaito surf. He could see that Lucia was making a commotion about Kaito's surfing while the other two didn't seem as thrilled as she was. He shook his head at that and kept on walking, as he wanted to get home to test out the PS2 that Mogie had in his possession for a while.

Suddenly the ocean around Kaito froze and he promptly fell of his board and rolled around the rough ice. Lucia, Hanon, and Rina instantly ran towards the ocean and dived in, as the girls and Attis knew who would do such a thing.

Meanwhile, Attis made his way over the ice and managed to reach the fallen Kaito. He saw that he was bleeding in a few places thanks to the rough ice. Summoning Aqualis, he pointed the Keyblade to Kaito and said, "Cure!"

The spell mended Kaito's wounds and stopped the bleeding altogether, and Attis made Aqualis vanish as he carefully picked up Kaito and slung his arm over his shoulder. Then Attis carefully made his way to shore, making sure not to slip.

When they were on the beach, Attis went back for Kaito's surfboard and managed to bring it to shore after thawing it out with a couple of Fire spells. After putting the board down beside Kaito, he looked towards the ocean and hoped that the Mermaid Princesses were okay, since he had an odd feeling lodged in his chest.

* * *

_Underwater_

Lucia, Hanon, and Rina confronted the culprit Maria and had just finished singing Super Love Songs to her. The song froze her completely with her own power, and the finishing move shattered it all off. That's when the girls asked their final line, "How about an encore?"

"Damn…!" Maria said frustrated. She was about to disappear when a hand appeared on her shoulder and Mayluna's voice said, "Are you alright Maria?"

Turning around, she was surprised to see Mayluna in a black cloak that was like Attis', except it had no strings, and that her mouth and part of her neck was exposed. Mayluna asked, "Did the Mermaid Princesses beat you again?"

All Maria could do was give a nod and Mayluna told her, "Go back to the castle; I'll make you some tea when I get back."

Maria just nodded and she vanished, while Mayluna turned to the Mermaid Princesses and said, "Well, we meet again Mermaid Princesses. I hope that you haven't forgotten me."

The girls recognized her voice and Lucia said, "Wait, you're that person in a brown cloak that fought with Attis back at the North Pacific Palace!"

"Good, good, you haven't forgotten. I heard that the Pink Pearl Mermaid Princess was a bit of an airhead, but I guess I heard wrong…" Mayluna said.

"W-what was that?!" Lucia shouted angrily. Mayluna just shrugged and said, "I guess info can be wrong at times. I also heard that the Aqua Pearl Mermaid Princess acted like a giddy girl up on sugar at times, while the Green Pearl Mermaid Princess can be too serious for her own good."

The girls didn't like what they were hearing as Rina shouted, "Where did you hear that from?!"

"Oh, I have my ways…" Mayluna replied a bit playfully. She looked around before asking, "I see that Attis isn't around, which would mean that I would be able to capture the three of you without much trouble…"

Lucia, Hanon, and Rina tensed up at that, but Mayluna said, "…But that's not why I'm here today, so don't worry about that."

They were confused at that as Mayluna said, "I'm just curious about something. Now, why don't you three sing me something that would make me run away in pain and frustration, like what you do to the Dark Lovers."

It sounded to them that Mayluna was egging them on so Lucia turned to both Hanon and Rina, with them giving a nod. Then Lucia shouted, "If you want some, then we'll give you some! Pichi Pichi Voice Live Start!"

_Starlight! Hikari wo motto atsumetara_

_ Kono sekai wa kitto kawatteku_

As they sung, Mayluna just floated there when she got an idea. Suddenly she started to act like she's in pain and she held her head with her hands as the song went on.

_Mukaikaze no naka demo _

_ Kurai umi no soko demo_

_ Kono te wo hanasanai de…zettai_

_ Yume ga hajimaru Super Live!_

_ Hikari to kage no Super Stage_

_ Ai wo tsutaete Super Songs!_

_ Yuuki wo kureru ai no uta_

Now Mayluna looked like she was hung limp in the water as the three Mermaid Princess shouted, "Love Shower Pitch! How about an encore?"

There was a moment of silence, which unnerved the three Princesses. Soon, there was a faint giggling from Mayluna, and as she straightened herself up it turned into full blown laughter. They were confused by her behavior and Hanon whispered, "Do you think our song made her go crazy?"

Before either Lucia or Rina could reply, the laughter died down as Mayluna said cheerfully, "I can't believe you girls fell for that! Man, the Dark Lovers must've been acting like a bunch of drama queens if you believed that performance!"

The Mermaid Princesses were shocked as Lucia said, "Then, that means…!"

"Yup, you guessed it Pinky, I didn't feel a single thing from that song. Interesting isn't it? Then again, I'm not a water demon, so I guess it can make sense." Mayluna mused.

The girls felt like they were in trouble now that they know that their songs won't be able to affect Mayluna. That's when Mayluna said, "Can't blame you for not knowing you know, though I'm surprised that cutesy songs like yours could send a water demon away in tears."

Mayluna's behavior was confusing the Mermaid Princesses. Apparently they've never encountered someone like Mayluna before as she summoned a boombox shaped Heartless and a tune started to emanate from it. The Mayluna said, "Personally I like songs with energy in them, like this!"

_Hanate! Kokoro ni kizanda yume wo mirai sae okizari ni shite_

_ Genkai nado shiranai imi nai_

_ Kono chikara ga hikari chirasu sono saki ni haruka na omoi wo_

Lucia, Hanon, and Rina were surprised to see Mayluna singing, but found it even weirder that they didn't feel anything negative coming from it. All they did was just stand there as Mayluna went on.

_Aruite kita kono michi wo furikaeru koto shika_

_ Dekinai nara…ima koko de subete wo kowaseru_

_ Kurayami ni ochiru machinami hito wa doko mae tachimukaeru no?_

_ Kasoku suru sono itami kara dareka wo kitto mamoreru yo_

_ Looking!_

_ The blitz loop this planet to search way_

_ Only my Railgun can shoot it imasugu_

_ Karada juu wo hikari no hayasa de_

_ Kake megutta tashikana yokan_

_ Tsukame! Nozomu mono nara nook sazu kagayakeru jibunrashisa de_

_ Shinjiteru yo ano hi no chikai wo_

_ Kono hitomi ni hikaru namida sore sae mo tsuyosa ni naru kara_

When Mayluna finished, the boombox Heartless vanished as well, leaving the three Mermaid Princesses floating there in disbelief. Mayluna smirked saying, "Oh well, if the whole cutesy thing works for you, then I don't have any say in it." Then a Corridor of Darkness appeared and engulfed Mayluna, making her vanish with the last thing she said was, "Give my regards to Atty, will ya?"

When Mayluna was gone, the Mermaid Princesses looked at each other as Hanon asked, "What the heck was she doing here anyway? It looked like she just came here to mock us…"

"I know, and it doesn't help that our songs don't affect her in the slightest." Rina replied. That's when Lucia remembered Kaito and said, "Oh no, we need to see if Kaito's alright!"

Hanon and Rina nodded at that and they transformed back into their mermaid forms and quickly swam towards the surface. Lucia was the one who was the most worried and thought, 'Please be alright Kaito…'

* * *

_Beachside_

Back on the surface, Attis was busy watching over Kaito, who was still unconscious. The ice that Maria froze quickly melted as Attis had the slightest feeling that Mayluna was around for only an instant. He shook his head as he saw the three Princesses running towards him and Kaito. Attis said, "Hey girls, I see you took care of the problem."

"Attis? When did you get here?" Lucia asked. Attis replied, "I was around when I saw the wave Kaito was riding freeze in an instant. I managed to patch up his injuries and brought him to shore."

"I see… Thank you Attis." Lucia said to him. Then Attis said, "Hey, I think he's waking up."

Sure enough, Kaito was starting to stir and asked in a daze, "Huh? What happened…?" Then he saw Attis standing above him and asked, "Attis? What are you doing here?"

"You fell off your surfboard Kaito, and I went in after you, since you weren't coming back up." Attis told him.

Kaito seemed confused and said, "But didn't the ocean freeze?" Attis brushed it off saying, "You must've hit the water hard if you think that's what happened. Isn't that right girls?"

Lucia, Hanon, and Rina nodded at that as Attis said, "Maybe you should go home and rest Kaito, You look like you need it."

There was a moment of silence before Kaito picked up his surfboard and said, "Maybe you're right Attis. I'll see everyone later."

When the girls said bye to Kaito, they turned to Attis after Kaito was gone and Rina said, "Attis, we encountered Mayluna after we beat Maria."

Attis was alarmed at that and asked, "…Did she do anything to you three?"

They shook their heads as Hanon said, "She just appeared in a cloak that looks just like yours after we beat Maria. We tried to make her go away by singing, and we thought it worked, until she told us that she was faking it and that our song didn't affect her in any way. Then she said a bunch of things to us and sang this song to us for some reason, then just disappeared soon after."

"I think she was just taunting us somehow." Lucia said. Attis shook his head in disbelief and said, "Damn, I knew that she was around somewhere…"

"I wonder why she didn't try to capture us back then. The way she treated Maria, it's obvious that she's allied herself with Gaito, and she needs us to open the door to this Kingdom Hearts." Rina pondered.

Attis found that piece of information a bit alarming but told the girls, "All I can say is that Mayluna isn't right in the head. She's been like that ever since I've first encountered her, and quite frankly, she's been labeled as a lunatic in some cases. Honestly, I personally think she's had a bad case of M.P.D ever since she gave in to the darkness."

The girls were a bit disturbed by what Attis said as he went on, "That's why her actions can be quite unpredictable at times. From what I know, one time she visited a world just to sightsee, and then she went to another world and made it fall into darkness in less than an hour apart. A number of my fellow Keybladers fell to her in the past, with me and three others to come out alive after a confrontation with her, and I was lucky during my first confrontation."

"She sounds dangerous." Lucia commented. Attis corrected her, "No, she is dangerous, and the only reason I managed to beat her back at the North Pacific Palace was because I totally caught her off guard. I know for a fact that something like that won't happen again."

Lucia and Hanon had looks of shock on their faces as Rina asked, "So she's that dangerous?"

"Yup, especially to those who are hungry for power. She calls herself the Dark Temptress for a reason, and those she successfully tempts get turned into Heartless as soon as their usefulness to her is through, or if it's on her whim. Believe me, I've seen her turn people into Heartless just because she was angry." Attis told them.

The three Mermaid Princesses gulped at that as Attis said, "As I said before, she's really unpredictable, and let's consider what just happened to be extremely lucky, alright?"

There was a nod from the three girls and Attis said, "Well, I guess I'll see the three of you later. See ya."

"Bye Attis." Lucia, Hanon, and Rina said collectively. When Attis left Hanon asked, "Do you think Attis was overreacting when he talked about Mayluna?"

"Honestly, from our encounter, I wouldn't be surprised if that was true. I mean, she was weirder than the Dark Lovers." Rina replied. Lucia nodded in agreement as the three of them walked away, their destination Pearl Piari.

* * *

_Attis' apartment_

The next day, Attis was busy watching T.V. in his apartment after getting off of work early. Suddenly the doorbell rang and he went over and opened the door, seeing Rina standing there. He said, "Oh Rina, something the matter?"

"Something's come up, and we might need your help with it." Rina replied.

Judging from the anxiousness of her voice, Attis guessed, "I take it this has something to do with Lucia?" Rina nodded and Attis shouted, "Mogie, I'm going out for a bit, so could you take care of the T.V.?"

"Okay kupo!" Mogie's voice shouted from the Moogle's room. Attis got out and closed the door behind him saying, "So what exactly happened?"

"We'll have to meet up with Hanon, and she'll tell us what's going on." Rina replied. Attis nodded and the two of them ran off in a hurry.

* * *

_Beachside_

When Attis and Rina met up with Hanon, they were told of the situation as they ran. Then Attis said, "So Lucia's over at Kaito's house, and she has this charm that keeps her emotions in check. But now the charm's going out of control?"

"That's right, Hippo barged into my bath and told me everything." Hanon replied, "If Lucia turns into bubbles, what are we going to do?!"

"She's been worried about her status as a Mermaid Princess lately, so I think it'll be alright." Rina assured Hanon. Then Hanon said, "I hope so…" while Attis asked, "When was this?"

Rina was about to say something when she and Hanon noticed something going on down at the beach. The three of them stopped with Rina asking, "What's wrong Hanon?"

Pointing towards the beach, Hanon said, "Rina, Attis, look over there."

Looking down at the spot Hanon was pointing at, they saw Eriru down at the beach, fiddling with some kind of machine, plugging wires in here and there all over the machine. Hanon asked, "Just what is she doing down there?"

"Probably just a trap to catch us." Rina replied. Hanon turned to Rina and Attis asking, "Well then, shall we go oblige her?"

Rina nodded while Attis said, "You two go knock yourselves out. I'll just stay here and watch."

Hanon and Rina agreed to that and they transformed into their Idol forms, with Attis watching the whole spectacle. After an exchange, Hanon and Rina started singing Legend of Mermaid, with Eriru going nuts as a result.

After finishing, Hanon and Rina did their, "Love Shower, Pitch!" ending and then asked, "How about an encore?"

To their surprise, Eriru was spinning so fast that she started to fly away over the ocean, much to Attis' disbelief. As she few away, Eriru shouted, "Hey, gimme a break!"

After that, Heartless showed up and Attis jumped in with Aqualis to deal with them. When they were dealt with, Attis made a motion and said, "You two go and see if Lucia's alright. I'll take care of this contraption."

As Hanon and Rina turned back, they nodded and took off, leaving Attis with the machine Eriru was working on. Looking over it he said, "Hmm, might as well take this back to my place. Maybe Mogie can use it for spare parts or something."

* * *

_Attis' apartment_

Taking the machine back to his apartment, Attis showed it to Mogie, who was quite curious about it and said, "Take it to my room kupo. I'll take a look at it later."

After doing just that, Attis stuck around and went back to playing on the PS2. Later, Rina called, saying that Lucia was alright and that nothing serious had happened. However, when Attis asked what did happen, Rina got a bit flustered and she bluntly said that nothing happened and hung up.

"What was that all about?" Attis asked himself as he put the phone down. Shaking his head, Attis went back to playing the PS2, pushing the issue out of his mind.

* * *

Note: Song is Only My Railgun from fripSide, the OP to To Aru Kagaku no Railgun. Sorry about being random about it, since I was listening to it when I wrote this chapter.


	24. Marriage Matches

Chapter 24 – Marriage Matches

_Marriage Event Building - Lobby_

Attis was sitting with Hanon, who had invited him over by the way, waiting for Rina to arrive. As they waited, Hanon told Attis of the situation, how Meru was back in town and she told him the story where Meru asked Kaito to marry her while she was with her and Lucia. When Hanon told Attis that Kaito accepted it on the spot, Attis laughed and said, "Now that's hilarious. I take it that Lucia didn't take it very well."

"Believe me, Lucia turned white as a ghost when she heard Kaito's reply." Hanon told him. Attis laughed at that as he said, "Oh boy, Lucia's spent all this time getting close to Kaito when Meru pops out of nowhere and springs the question. Man that's just too funny."

That's when Rina walked into the building, and Hanon said, "Hey Rina! Over here!"

Rina looked over to see Hanon and Attis and said, "Oh, Hanon, Attis, there you are." She walked over and took a seat opposite of them saying, "So, what's going on?"

After Hanon explained the situation to her, Rina said, "What? Meru and Kaito are going to get married here?"

Attis was snickering while Hanon explained, "It's really just a mock wedding event. Here, take a look at that."

Hanon pointed to a nearby advertisement sign that was hanging and Rina read out what was on it, "'Sample experience wedding?'"

"It's a gimmick to bring in customers." Hanon told her. Rina understood saying, "Oh, so Meru and Kaito aren't really getting married then."

"Kaito-kun's just pretending to go out with Meru because she's a kid." Hanon said to them. Attis couldn't help but say, "You should try telling that to Lucia. She takes anything related to Kaito way too seriously."

"Speaking of which, what's Lucia doing anyway?" Rina asked. Hanon simply replied, "She's not very happy. Lucia's following them right now." Then Hanon clapped her hands together and smiled saying, "It seems fun, doesn't it?"

Both Attis and Rina looked at Hanon oddly as Rina said, "Sounds fun? Hanon, sticking your nose in other people's business…"

Attis smiled and gave a small nod as Hanon said, "I'm not sticking my nose in! How rude." Then Hanon took a sip of her drink before she went on, "But Meru is a girl from my kingdom and Lucia is my friend so, I want to cheer for both of them!"

Rina sighed and said, "You really are irresponsible when it comes to other people's romances."

Attis chuckled as Hanon said, "Don't worry about it. Let's go watch other people's romances together Rina, Attis!"

Hanon finished her drink and got up motioning them to follow. Attis and Rina finished their drinks as Rina asked, "So, you think something's going to happen?"

"If this is Lucia we're talking about, then something is definitely going to happen. Something always does when it involves Kaito, doesn't it?" Attis replied.

"…You got a point there." Rina said. Then Hanon shouted, "Hey Rina, Attis, hurry up!"

"We'd better hurry and see what her highness wants." Attis said. Rina laughed as she nodded and the two of them rushed over to Hanon who was waiting for them.

* * *

_Adjacent Chapel – Courtyard_

The three of them went around the building, and they managed to sample a number of cakes. Now Hanon, Rina, and Attis were in front of a rose archway that led to the church, where they saw a number of dressed up couples in front of the entrance. They watched as Hanon said, "So this is where humans get married."

"Yeah…" Rina said, sounding a bit bored. Then Attis said, "Well, this is one of the main places where people get married actually. I have heard of other marriage ceremonies where they take place in other places, like beautiful courtyards and this one time, on a spectacular beach. But a church is one of the more, well, used places since it's quite romantic."

"Eh, its sounds like you've been through a few Attis." Rina said. Hanon turned to Attis as he replied, "Nah, there have been a number of weddings within the Keypers. I've attended a number of them since they're friends and fellow Keyblade wielders, so I have a general idea what goes on, not to mention that each wedding was quite unique in their own way."

Hanon was amazed by that as she turned back to the crowd of couples and said dreamily, "Somehow, everyone looks so happy."

That's when they heard a voice say, "Your bride's not here yet."

Rina and Attis turned to see two men in suits, one who was one of the staff members, and the other being a groom with a worried look on his face. The staff member said, "There's not much time until the ceremony."

The worried groom replied, "I'm sorry." Then Rina commented, "Looks like not everyone's happy."

"I can see that." Attis observed. Then Hanon said, "The hotel chapel looks so cute. I want to marry Taro-chan in such a place…"

That's when Hanon went off in her fantasy, shouting, "Oh! I'd be so happy!" Both Rina and Attis sighed as Rina said, "Go tell that to yourself sometime when I'm not around."

"Hear, hear!" Attis added. Then he whispered to Rina, "Let's keep on going, or else we'll be listening to Hanon's fantasy go on all day. I don't think I want to hear it when she starts going on about their future kids."

"I hear that." Rina agreed, "Hanon, let's keep looking around."

Hanon snapped out of it and nodded, then the three of them went on to tour the courtyards, which were decorated with roses and such. As they looked around Attis thought, 'Ha, this brings back memories of the Keypers, though there's that one memory I still find quite funny. A pair of twins, a brother and sister, got drunk at one of the weddings so badly that they started making out with each other. It was quite funny to see their reactions the next day, and the best part is, that they did it again at the next one!'

Attis snickered to himself as Hippo appeared to them on a short pillar and said, "Ah, Hanon-san, Rina-san, Attis-san, we have a situation!"

"Whoa, what happened Hippo?" Hanon asked, wondering what had happened. Hippo explained the situation, but Attis didn't catch it so he said, "Uh, what was that Hippo?"

Hippo grumbled and replied, "Like I said, I turned my eyes away for just a moment, and then both Kaito-san and Meru-san were gone."

"And I take it you lost Lucia too." Rina added. Hippo looked down with a bit of shame as he said, "Yes, I did."

Attis commented, "I bet you were eating your heart out over all the cake samples being offered, didn't you?"

"N-no I wasn't. I was helping Lucia-san keep a vigilant eye on them." Hippo defended. Attis rolled his eyes and said, "Sure you didn't. Anyway, what do we do?"

"Hmm, even if she's a kid, Meru is a mermaid, so I doubt that she'd do something rash or get herself hurt…" Hanon replied.

Rina then said, "Anyway, we'll have to find them. Hanon, Attis, let's split up and look for them."

"All right." Hanon agreed. Attis just nodded and the three of them split up, leaving Hippo by himself as he said, "Jeez, where on earth did Lucia-san go?"

* * *

_Marriage Event Building – hallway_

After searching one part of the building, Attis met up with Rina after she searched her part, and the two of them were running down the hallway together as Attis asked, "Have you seen any sign of them?"

"No, they weren't in the building. Maybe Hanon saw them, since she's still outside looking." Rina replied.

Little did they know, Hanon had checked out the chapel already, and she had just missed them by a bit. Attis shook his head and said, "I swear, they sure don't make this easy for us."

"You can say that again." Rina said, "Kaito, Meru, Lucia… Where did they go?"

That's when someone called out to them, "Hey you two, over here!"

Confused, Attis and Rina looked towards the source and saw a staff member waving her arm at them, gesturing at them to hurry over. The two stopped in front of her as she said, "The show's starting already!"

"What?" Both Attis and Rina asked, puzzled. The staff member took both of their arms as she said, "The two of you need to get changed! There's no more time!"

The staff member dragged both of them in with Rina saying, "Hey, wait a min-!" while Attis was too bewildered to speak as the door closed behind them.

As if luck was mocking them, Kaito and Meru passed by the same spot a moment later looking at the dresses that were on display there. If only luck was on their side today…

* * *

_Marriage Event Building – showcase hall_

As the showing of suits and dresses was going on, Hanon entered the hall and met up with Hippo asking, "Have you found Kaito, Lucia, or Meru?"

"No, not yet," Hippo replied, "And now I can't find either Rina-san or Attis-san. It's like they vanished."

Suddenly, there was an announcement that caught their attention, "Now, for the next group of dresses!"

Hanon and Hippo turned around to see who was next, as Attis in a black suit with tie appeared from the left, while Rina in a white dress that looked similar to her idol form dress, but with the bottom half more like a wedding dress, appeared and they walked up to each other. Rina put her hand around Attis' arm as they stood there, and the crowd applauded at the display.

Up on stage, Rina was blushing red for some reason, while Attis too was blushing, but not as badly as he thought, 'What the heck just happened?'

Rina's thoughts were along the same lines as she thought, 'How did I end up in this dress and be in the show? Though I must admit, this dress looks beautiful,' Looking over to Attis, she added, 'Attis looks quite good too…wait, what am I thinking?!'

'Seeing Rina in that dress, she looks quite beautiful…wait, what?' Attis thought to himself.

Hanon and Hippo where shocked to see those two as Hanon said, "Rina and Attis?!"

"W-why is Rina-san and Attis-san in the show?! I thought they were busy searching for those three?!" Hippo added, still shocked at the turn of events.

As they stood there Attis remembered something that one of the staff members told him. Looking down, he saw a photographer down in the middle, ready to take a picture. Wincing inside, he whispered to Rina, "Sorry about this Rina."

"Huh? What are you-, kya!" Attis swept Rina off her feet and held her bridal style, surprising her and making her hold onto his neck. The crowd applauded even louder and some of the guys even whistled at that as the photographer took a picture. She was blushing even harder as she whispered, "What are you doing?! Put me down!"

"It's not my fault, one of the staff members told me to do this," Attis whispered back, "There's a camera down there, so all we need to do is look and smile before I can put you back down."

Rina couldn't believe what she just heard, but she did what Attis said. When the next picture was taken, Attis put Rina down, and the two gave a bow before they walked off the stage.

Back to Hanon and Hippo, Hanon said, "Aw, I wish I was the one up there. Anyway, I knew that there was something going on between those two, I just knew it!"

"I don't think now's the time to talk about those kinds of things Hanon-san. Anyway, those two were probably roped into the show somehow." Hippo said.

Backstage, Rina and Attis broke apart the moment they were out of sight, still a bit embarrassed at what just happened. They took deep breaths as Attis said, "Oh boy; that was quite the experience. How on earth did we get roped into that anyway?"

"I don't know." Rina replied. Then she turned on him and asked, "Why didn't you give me a warning beforehand that you were going to do that! It surprised the heck out of me!"

"Hey, one of the staff members suddenly came up to me just before we were supposed to walk out. Believe me; I was just as shocked as you were." Attis defended.

Rina just sighed and the two looked at each other as Attis commented, "You look amazing in that dress Rina."

"Well, you look quite good in that suit yourself." Rina shot back. The two smirked as the next couple was called onto the stage. Attis went around and took a peek and said, "Hey, isn't that Lucia over there?"

"What? Where?" Rina asked, taking a look for herself. Sure enough Lucia was up on stage in a wedding dress with the guy Attis recognized from earlier at the rose archway.

Looking at the guy next to her Rina asked, "Who's that with Lucia?"

"It's the guy from the rose archway. You know, the guy whose girlfriend didn't show up." Attis replied.

"Oh, I remember now, but what I want to know is why Lucia's up there with him in a dress." Rina said.

Attis smirked and said, "You know, I swear Hippo would say something along the lines of, 'She got dumped by Kaito-san and got jealous!' if he saw this."

Ironically, Hippo said the exact same line at the same time as Attis did. The two of them watched as the guy's girlfriend actually showed up in a leopard print suit. That's when the guy suddenly jumped off the stage and ran to his girlfriend to embrace her. Attis couldn't help but comment, "You know, that sure makes quite the statement, doesn't it?"

"I don't want to know what that statement is actually." Rina replied, as Lucia was left standing by herself at the side of the stage.

Looking away, Attis and Rina looked at each other one more time as Attis asked, "So, how exactly do we get ourselves out of these clothes?"

"I'm not sure…" Rina replied. That's when there was a commotion going on in the hall and both Rina and Attis took a look.

They saw that the hall was in chaos as people ran for cover from water attacks coming from the pool. Onstage they saw Izuru and Eriru fighting and Rina said, "Water Demons, go figure."

"You better transform, before the situation gets out of hand." Attis suggested. Rina nodded, and she ran off, joining Hanon soon afterwards.

In the hallway, Attis saw Meru standing by herself and ran over to her asking, "Meru, are you alright?"

"Attis-sama, what are you doing here?" Meru asked, surprised by his appearance. Attis was about to reply when Hanon and Rina appeared on stage in their idol forms. In an instant, the chaos ceased and everyone's attention was focused on those on the stage.

Attis watched with them as Hanon said, "A happy place that young maidens dream of…"

"…being trashed by demons will not be forgiven!" Rina finished. Attis raised an eyebrow at that as the two began singing Ever Blue, which made the attacks disappear in an instant and started to hurt Izuru and Eriru.

Soon after, Lucia showed up somehow on some kind of contraption from above saying, "A wedding is a girl's dream. For Water Demons who destroy it, the three of us will have a Pichi Pichi Wedding Chorus."

As they started singing Super Love Songs, Attis couldn't help but think, 'I wonder where she gets her lines…not to mention how on earth she got away from Kaito…'

After it was all done, the audience applauded and Attis couldn't help but think, 'Thank goodness people can be so ignorant at times.' Then he turned to Meru as the lights went out and said, "Why don't we go check up on them Meru?"

"Sure Attis-sama." Meru replied. As they walked, Attis was on the lookout for any Heartless that might show up, but none of them did, making Attis think, 'Mayluna must have them on a tight leash or something…'

* * *

_Marriage Event Building – photo shoot_

Later, Attis found himself standing with Meru, in a dress of her own. Rina and Hanon were there too, with Rina still in her wedding dress for some reason. Off to the side were Lucia and Kaito, with Lucia still in her dress for some reason too.

Looking at Meru, Attis asked, "Uh Meru? Do you really want a picture with me? I mean, what about Kaito…?"

Meru smiled and said, "Kaito-sama had a cute girl next to him, but he went off and rescued another one instead. Lucia-sama can have him."

Attis couldn't help but laugh at that as Meru added, "Not to mention, you look simply amazing in that tuxedo Attis-sama! As expected of the Keyblade warrior."

"Now you're just saying that Meru." Attis said with a smirk. Hanon and Rina watched as Hanon said, "Attis in a tuxedo looks much better than Hippo, doesn't he?"

Hippo waved his arms saying, "No way, my identity as a penguin…" Rina looked at Hippo as she said, "She's just kidding Hippo."

That's when the photographer from earlier came around and went behind the camera saying, "Are you two ready?"

"Yup!" Attis and Meru replied at the same time as Meru wrapped her arm around his. The two smiled and the picture was taken, with the photographer giving a thumbs up.

Looking at the current situation, Attis had an idea come to mind and called out to everyone saying, "Hey everyone, why don't we take a picture together. Kaito and Hanon could get dressed too, so how about it?"

Everyone looked at each other for a moment before Kaito said, "Sure, I don't mind." Hanon agreed to it too saying, "Of course, now I get to wear a pretty dress too!"

"This okay with you sir?" Attis asked the photographer. The guy nodded saying, "Sure, since this would make a nice group shot."

After Kaito and Hanon got changed, the six of them took their positions in front of the camera. From left to right, Attis and Kaito were standing at the back; Rina, Lucia, and Hanon were sitting in front of them, and sitting on the floor elegantly in front of Lucia was Meru. The photographer found it to be perfect and said, "Okay, one, two, three!"

Everyone smiled and the shot was taken. The photographer said it was alright and they were free to change. However, a few more shots were taken, one with Kaito and Lucia, another with Hanon and Attis, after he heard her say that he makes a good Taro substitute or something, and one last one with him and Rina, to Hanon and Lucia's pressuring. After that, everyone left to get changed except Attis, as the photographer went up to him asking where he should send the pictures.

Attis gave his address and he asked for the seven specific pictures to be delivered. The photographer nodded and left, leaving Attis by himself before heading for the change room thinking, 'Man, today was quite the day. Well, at least I got an excuse for Maki-san now. Let's just hope he believes me.'

* * *

_Attis' apartment_

A few days later, Attis was at home when the doorbell rang. He got up and answered it, to find a delivery person with a thin package. After signing the form, Attis took the package inside and Mogie said, "What's that kupo?"

"Oh, it's something that happened a few days ago." Attis replied, opening the package. Looking through the pictures inside them, Attis was amazed at how they turned out and Mogie looked at them too saying, "Wow kupo, you sure look good in that tux kupo."

"Haha, thanks Mogie." Attis said, as the last picture showed him and Rina in a portrait shot, the one taken after Attis and Hanon's. He thought, 'I'll show these pictures to the others tomorrow.'

'They look very nice…' Aine's voice rang through Attis' head. He then thought, 'And that's pretty creepy Aine.'

All he heard was a faint giggle as Attis thought, 'How the heck does she do that?' Then he put the pictures on the counter before he went back to watching T.V. with Mogie.

* * *

_Dreamstate – ten years ago_

"…Damn, that was one thing I wasn't expecting…" Attis said in disbelief.

He was looking over the battlefield where the mermaid army emerged victorious over the next Heartless army that had amassed, thanks to the water demons. However, the way that they had won was what had Attis in disbelief.

Going over the battle, Attis had taught the Mermaid Princesses a song beforehand, which was a song that he had heard from the anime Seto no Hanayome, called Eiyuu no Shi by San Seto, something he heard in the past. He taught it to them as a way to pass the time, and the Mermaid Princesses found the song to be quite enjoyable and motivating.

When the Heartless showed up, Attis readied himself to get back into the fighting when the tune for Eiyuu no Shi started up as the Live Stage surrounded the seven Mermaid Princesses.

Aqua Regina appeared and asked curiously, "What is that song Attis?"

"Uh, it's something that I taught the Mermaid Princesses during the down time." Attis replied. Aqua Regina just nodded as the mermaids charged forward with their tridents.

What happened next was something that Attis least expected. When the seven Mermaid Princesses started singing, a change came over the warrior mermaids. All of a sudden, they started fighting the Heartless mercilessly, something that shocked both Attis and Aqua Regina.

"Um, shouldn't you go join them Attis?" Aqua Regina asked timidly.

"…And get in the middle of that?" Attis replied, pointing to a mermaid who ripped a Shadow apart with her bare hands, "I don't think so."

Those three and a half minutes were the scariest thing Attis saw in the longest time. The Heartless were defeated and they had the sense not to come back for more, and he couldn't blame them. Even with the song over, some of the mermaids looked like they were ready for more before the calmed down.

Attis commented, "D-damn, they turned into freakin' Amazons for crying out loud!"

"…I think I'll tell the girls to sing that song only in an emergency." Aqua Regina simply said as she walked over to the Mermaid Princesses.

"Good luck with that…" Attis replied, seeing as the seven Mermaid Princesses were amazed at what just happened. He thought, 'Man that was scary, and that will be burned into my memory for a long time. Note to self: never push a mermaid over the edge.'


	25. New Love

Chapter 25 – New Love

_Maki's Restaurant_

Attis was busy with another workday when the door chimed, and he saw Lucia, Hanon, and Rina walk in with a boy that he didn't recognize. Wondering who the guy was, he walked over to them as they took a table saying, "Hey girls, who's this guy?"

"…Would you believe it was Hippo?" Rina asked skeptically. Attis looked at her as if she grew a second head saying, "Are you serious?"

He took a look over Hippo, still unsure as he said, "You sure he's Hippo? The penguin with the dorky outfit?"

"My clothes are just fine thank you very much!" Hippo replied angrily. That made Attis jump and say, "Woah, he really is Hippo!"

That's when Hippo lowered his head in shame as Hanon urged him, "Come on, raise your head up, Hippo."

When Hippo refused to, Attis asked, "What the heck is his problem?"

Rina replied in a whisper, "He doesn't like how he looks. Hippo's acting like he's ugly or something." Lucia added, "Onee-chan said something how the view of beauty between the surface and the ocean is too different, or something like that."

Looking at Hippo one more time, Attis asked, "So, how did this happen exactly?"

"Let's see here, Hippo was being chased by some kids and a dog, and then the dog bit Hippo, causing him to transform with a bang." Rina explained in a snap.

"Okay, now that sounds interesting… Anyway, good luck with cheering the guy up. Honestly though, I'm shocked that a mob of girls hasn't swarmed him by now." Attis said as he left the four.

Attis' words confused Hippo when two guys came by and asked the three Princesses for a swim together. Keeping an eye on the situation, Attis laughed when Hanon stepped on Hippo's foot, making a face and sending the guys away in defeat; this nearly made him trip since he didn't look where he was going at the time.

However, it didn't work when Kaito came along and Lucia tried it with Hippo too. Attis rolled his eyes and said, "Either he doesn't care, is really professional, or he's too dense…"

When Kaito walked away, Attis went up to him and said, "So, looks like the girls got wind of you helping out here huh?"

"Yeah, they're pretty hard to shake off actually." Kaito replied. Then he pointed to Hippo and asked, "So anyway, who's that guy hanging out with Lucia and the others?"

'So he does care, I guess.' Attis thought. Then he replied, "I heard that he's a distant relative of Lucia and Nikora-san's coming over for a visit, I think."

"Really now…" Kaito said. Attis sighed inwardly that Kaito bought his story, and promised to tell Lucia and the others later.

A moment later, there was a commotion and Attis saw the girls that had crowded Kaito earlier swarm Hippo. He saw that Hippo realized that his current appearance was good, due to all the attention, and he flashed a smile, making the girls scream happily while making Attis laugh at the scene as he went back to work.

However, the fun didn't last when the girls started fighting over him, and Attis was horrified to see Hippo turned into some kind of tug-of-war thing by the girls. Lucia, Hanon, and Rina jumped in and tried to stop it. Hippo got loose and Attis went over to the door and opened it, letting Hippo through as he said, "Thank you Attis-san."

Soon, the girls realized that Hippo was gone, while Attis quietly went back to work. When the girls dispersed, looking for Hippo, the three Mermaid Princesses went over to Attis, since they saw him help Hippo escape. Lucia asked in a whisper, "Attis, did you see where Hippo ran off to?"

Pointing in the direction of the door and then the way Hippo ran, Attis replied, "Hippo went in that general direction, the last time I saw." They nodded and Lucia said, "Thank you very much Attis."

Seeing the three of them run out of the restaurant, Attis thought, 'Man, sudden popularity can really be crazy.'

Sighing, Attis went back to work, unaware of what would happen next. All he was grateful for was that the incident resolved itself before it could get out of hand.

* * *

A bit later in the day, Hippo came by alone and looked around until he saw Attis walk by. He was working overtime due to Maki's request and he saw Hippo coming towards him so he said, "Oh Hippo, still in one piece I see. Something wrong?"

"Um, could you please let me work here for a little bit Attis-san?" Hippo asked. Attis got curious and asked, "Mind telling me why?"

When Hippo told Attis the reason, he said, "Hmm, that's sound like a good reason. How about this: I'm currently working overtime and I'm starting to feel tired from the workload. I'll go out and get those sandals you want for that special girl of yours, and you'll take over for me as a way to pay me back. How does that sound?"

"That sounds good Attis-san. Thank you very much." Hippo replied. Attis gave Hippo his pen and pad saying, "Just go around and write down orders on that pad. And remember to give the orders to the right people. There are numbers on the tables so that should help."

Attis gave a wave and walked away after Hippo gave him the directions to the shoe store and the specific sandals that he wanted. Suddenly he felt a bit of weakness but he shook it off thinking, 'I might as well get this over with.'

* * *

_Shoe Store_

When Attis got to the place after taking a 'detour', which consisted of dinner, he looked around as he took out the piece of paper that had the description of the sandals that Hippo wanted.

Attis found them on display by the store window and asked the shop keeper, "Are those sandals for sale?"

"Yes sir," The shop keeper replied, "Is it for a special someone?"

"…I guess you could say that." Attis replied. The shop keeper nodded and got the sandals from the display case and brought them to the cashier. The shop keeper asked, "Do you want them wrapped sir?"

"Oh no, just put them in a box please." Attis replied. The shop keeper nodded, and when Attis paid for them, 'Wow, what a price. Hippo better be grateful…' he left the store and headed back to the restaurant, hoping that Maki doesn't know what he did.

* * *

_Maki's restaurant_

When Attis got back to the restaurant later, after dinner and a break, he found that a commotion was taking place between two couples. Putting the box that had the sandals down by the counter, he found Kaito standing nearby and asked, "What the heck happened Kaito?"

"I'm not sure, all I know is that those two guys suddenly grabbed each other's girlfriends and now they're fighting." Kaito replied.

Attis found that confusing until he looked around and saw that Hippo was gone. He asked, "Hey, were did my fill-in go?"

Kaito looked around before he replied, "I'm not sure…he disappeared soon after the commotion started." Having a bad feeling about this, ran out of the restaurant and said, "Kaito, that box and its contents is for my fill-in. Don't let anyone touch it please."

"Uh, sure…" Kaito replied, wondering what Attis was up to.

When he was out of sight, Attis threw on his black cloak and jumped into the water, just in time to see a lightning bolt hit a certain spot in the ocean. Attis took that as a sign and headed right where the thunderbolt hit thinking, 'Oh no, that's not good…'

Attis was sure right when he reached the spot, only to find Hippo floating on the surface with severe injuries, not to mention that he was back in his penguin form. Summoning Aqualis and synchronizing the Red Pearl to it, he pointed the Keyblade to Hippo and said, "Cura!"

A strong wave of healing energy passed over Hippo and it healed some of the penguin's injuries, but it wasn't enough so Attis said again, "Cura!" With another strong wave of healing energy passing over Hippo, most of his injuries were healed, though Attis was still worried that the thunderbolt did some bad internal damage. He knew first hand how much of a thunderbolt hurt when hit straight on.

Shaking his head, Attis made Aqualis vanish as he checked over Hippo, when he heard him say faintly, "…Yuri-san…" Looking confused, Attis thought, 'Yuri-san…? Oh no, don't tell me…'

That's when Attis felt energy coming from beneath him and he hooded himself before diving underwater, but not before putting a small barrier around Hippo thanks to an item that he had received from Mogie.

* * *

_Underwater_

Attis was swimming deeper, when he saw Lucia, Hanon, and Rina singing Super Love Songs to Yuri, who was in a different dress and seemed to be suffering more than usual. Attis seemed to connect the dots and somehow, both Hippo and Yuri met earlier. He thought, 'They must've met earlier today, since Hippo just transformed…'

Watching the three Mermaid Princesses finish singing with their signature, "Love Shower Pitch!" Attis saw Yuri swim away looking depressed, making him think, 'For some reason, I wonder if that song was really necessary…'

Shaking his head, Attis swam up the Mermaid Princesses as Lucia asked, "Attis! Did you find Hippo? Is he alright?!"

Holding up his hands, Attis replied to the concerned girls, "It's alright, I've managed to heal most of Hippo's injuries with my magic, but he still needs to be treated. I've put a barrier around him up on the surface so we can bring him back to Pearl Piari."

Suddenly, a whole bunch of Screwdivers and Sea Neons popped up, making Attis summon Aqualis saying, "I'll take care of the Heartless, you three just go and get Hippo some help!"

Lucia, Hanon, and Rina nodded as they transformed back into their mermaid forms and swam towards the surface. Attis held Aqualis in an aggressive stance saying, "I ain't playing around anymore…"

Attis was about to make the first move when suddenly he felt another pang of weakness, making him stop and lower his guard. One of the Screwdivers caught on to that and tried to pierce Attis' chest, but he managed to bring Aqualis up and stop the Screwdiver's spear.

Grunting, Attis spun around, making the Heartless near him fly back as he shouted, "Blizzard!"

A few shards of ice shot out of Aqualis' tip, piercing a Sea Neon and causing it to vanish, with its captive Heart released. Getting back into the groove, Attis went on the offensive against the Screwdivers, since Sea Neons weren't that much of a threat as he recalled.

Soon, he managed to get rid of them and Attis thought, 'Whew that takes care of that. Ugh, what's wrong with me lately? I've been feeling weak every now and again for a few days, and it nearly cost me just now. I'd better look into it later…'

That's when Attis swam upwards towards the surface, and if he had stuck around for a few minutes, Attis would've seen Caren go by the place he was just in, with the Pearl Radar in hand. She thought to herself, 'That's weird, I thought I saw him around here…'

* * *

_Pearl Piari_

Later that night, Attis went by Pearl Piari to see if Hippo was alright. He was in front of the door to the room where Hippo was resting, along with Lucia, Hanon, and Rina, with Nikora in front of them. Lucia asked for them, "Onee-chan, how's Hippo doing?"

"Well, thanks to Attis-san here, Hippo doesn't have any serious injuries, but he's still hurt, so let him sleep for a little longer." Nikora replied.

Attis clutched the box that held the sandals that Hippo wanted to get for Yuri and said, "Well, at least he's alright now." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a tiny Hi-Potion bottle and gave it to Nikora saying, "Here, after he wakes up, have him drink this. It will help with the healing process, speeding it along."

"Thank you Attis-san." Nikora replied, taking the Hi-Potion from him.

Attis gave a light stretch and said, "Well, I guess I'll better get going, so I'll see you girls later." He turned around and was about to leave when Hanon asked, "Attis, what's with the box?"

"Oh this?" Attis replied, giving the box a slight shake, "It's nothing, don't worry." He walked away, leaving the mermaids by themselves. Attis sighed and thought, 'This turned into something quite troublesome…'

The night didn't end there as when Attis was outside, he heard something from one of the windows to the side. Going over to the source, he saw that Hippo was trying to sneak out, and was carefully making his way down from the second floor.

When Hippo was on the ground, Attis appeared in front of the penguin and asked in a low voice, "And where do you think you're going Hippo?"

That shocked the penguin as Hippo saw Attis standing there in front of him. However, he regained his composure and said, "I promised to go see Yuri-san again tonight, and not even you can stop me Attis-san."

Attis sighed at that and said, "Then I'd better come with you then. You still have those injuries so I'll just keep an eye on you."

"…Thank you very much Attis-san." Hippo said. With that the two of them headed off towards the shack where Yuri was.

* * *

_Beachside – shack_

When they approached the shack, Attis pulled out the sandals from the box and said, "I believe these are the sandals you wanted Hippo?"

"Yes." Hippo replied, graciously accepting them. Attis watched as Hippo went up to the door and the penguin heard Yuri crying inside. Attis himself went to the side of the building right of the door and leaned on the wall, listening in on the conversation.

Leaning over, Attis saw Hippo slip the sandals under the door saying, "I was only working at the restaurant because I wanted you to wear these sandals. If you just walk around barefoot, I thought that those pretty feet of yours would get cut all over."

'Wow, that Hippo can sure be one smooth talker. Kinda wish I could express myself like that…' Attis thought to himself. Taking another look, Hippo opened the door a bit and peeked inside, seeing the look of amazement on Hippo's face.

That's when he heard footsteps and Hippo shouted, "You mustn't come Yuri-san!"

When Yuri asked why Hippo explained, "Right now, we've been given star-crossed fates, but one day, I'm positive that there will be a time where we can meet and be together again. I believe that time will come, since a friend of mine told me, 'Anything can happen in the future'."

Attis nodded at that as Yuri agreed to that and understood what was going on. Then she said with tears, "Until the day we meet again, I'll always be thinking of you and treasure these sandals you have given me. But I don't want to say goodbye…until we meet again, be safe Hippo-san!"

Hippo opened the door and Yuri ran out of the shack crying as she disappeared from the area. Hippo felt the same way and after a thought, he shut the door saying, "Yuri-san!" but she was already long gone.

Looking out at the ocean, Hippo cried out in pain Yuri's name three times, as if hoping for a response. At the same time, Attis hooded himself, feeling sorry for Hippo. Going up to him Attis said, "You know, all you can do is hope that this whole situation with the water demons and Gaito can end peacefully, so that the two of you can meet again under happier circumstances."

"…I will hope for that Attis-san…" Hippo said solemnly. There was a moment of silence before Attis said quietly, "Let's head back to Pearl Piari Hippo. The others probably know that you're gone now."

Hippo was silent for a bit before he sat down on the porch and replied, "…I want to stay here for a while longer. Is that alright with you Attis-san?"

"…Sure." Attis replied. He went back to leaning on the shack wall, watching over Hippo who was looking at the moonlit ocean. If Hippo could've seen Attis' face, he would've saw a tear fall down his cheek.

* * *

_Dreamstate – Awakening platform_

Again, Attis found himself on the platform that had Aqua Regina and the seven Mermaid Princesses on it. For some reason he felt weak, and that's when Aine's voice asked, "What's wrong Onii-chan?"

Turning around, Attis saw Aine standing behind him with a concerned look on his face. He sat down on the floor as he replied, "Argh, I don't know… I just feel tired at times, and I can't explain it."

"Hmm, maybe you're just working yourself too hard, or maybe that you coming down sick with something." Aine suggested. Attis raised an eyebrow and asked, "Since when do you give suggestions for a…" He eyed her for a second before he said, "An eight year old?"

Aine pouted and corrected, "I'm ten Onii-chan!"

Attis raised one eye to Aine and said, "Really now… I wonder if you'll be as stacked as the Mermaid Princesses if you reach their age…"

At that, Aine got annoyed and gave Attis a light kick to the side, making him groan and say, "What the heck was that for?!"

"You're being an idiot right now Onii-chan!" Aine shouted. For some reason though, it made Attis' head hurt as a girl's voice in his head said, "Is the Keyblade wielder an idiot?"

Shaking his head, Attis thought, 'W-who was that?' All of a sudden, the pillar shook and suddenly, Shadow Heartless started coming out of the ground, making Attis jump to his feet and the two took a fighting stance.

When Aqualis appeared in Aine's hands, Attis tried summoning Solaris and Lunaria, but all there was two flashes of light and nothing afterwards. As the Shadows surrounded the two, Attis thought, 'What the, why can't I summon those two?'

Suddenly, there were two female voices in his head and one of them said, 'I still can't believe that he doesn't remember, it's quite ridiculous if you ask me.'

The other said, 'You can't blame him sis, there's quite a strong lock on part of his memories. Maybe if he can remember those twins though…'

'Who the heck are you two?!' Attis thought furiously as he summoned the Castle Key to his hands and gripped it tightly. He whacked a Shadow into dust as the first voice replied, 'Ha, he can't even remember us. Now that's just sad.'

Then the second voice told him, 'If you can remember exactly how you obtained Solaris and Lunaria, then you'll know exactly who we are Attis.'

The two voices vanished, leaving Attis confused as he and Aine dealt with the Shadows on the platform. Aine noticed the Castle Key in his hands and she said, "Wow, I've never seen you wield the Castle Key before Onii-chan, except for in your memories."

"Yeah, at least I remember how to summon my first Keyblade…" Attis muttered as he bashed a few more Shadows into black mist.

Eventually, the two took care of all the Shadows, when the pillar started shaking and a Dark Follower started to appear in front of them from a dark portal. Looking like a Darkside, but a shade of purple and stronger, its way of fighting was pretty much the same, but with more power.

Aine got scared at the sight of it, but Attis put a hand on her shoulder and said with a smile, "Ready to take on your first giant Heartless Aine?"

Seeing the smile on Attis' face, Aine's confidence came back as she replied, "Yes, of course I am Onii-chan!"

"Glad to hear that." Attis said, and the two of them charged right at the Dark Follower as it bellowed. Attis suggested, "The head is the weakest part, so go after it when you get the chance."

With that advice in hand, the two managed to take down the Dark Follower. Though as it teetered forward, Aine instinctively ran over to Attis and he held her tight as he jumped out of the way of the falling Heartless.

When it vanished, Aine said, "Whew that was tough. Well, I guess I'll be seeing you later Onii-chan…" Then Aine and Aqualis vanished from his side as Attis nodded. Suddenly a thought came to him as he looked at the Castle Key, 'Wait, if I'm still able to summon my Castle Key, then why did Aqua Regina give me Aqualis?'

* * *

Waking up the next morning, Attis got out of bed, with the thought still fresh in his mind. Standing in front of his bed, Attis held out his hand and thought of the Castle Key. There was a flash of light and Attis' hopes got up, but they were instantly dashed when nothing showed up, making him slump.

'Man, what the heck happened to me?!' Attis thought to himself, shocked that the Castle Key didn't show up. He sighed as he got out of his room and prepared for breakfast, thought Attis felt a bit more tired than usual.

After breakfast, Attis got ready for work after greeting Mogie, when he thought, 'Those two voices, what did they mean by remembering how I obtained Solaris and Lunaria?'

Stopping at the door, Attis searched his memories, but to his horror, he found that he couldn't remember exactly how he obtained the twin Keyblades. This troubled him as he thought, 'Maybe that's why I can't summon them, but then what did they mean when they mentioned 'those twins'?'

Mogie noticed Attis just standing by the door and asked, "Is everything alright Attis kupo?"

Attis snapped out of it and shook his head saying, "I'm fine Mogie, just a bit preoccupied. Well, I'll see you later then."

"See you kupo!" The Moogle replied as Attis walked out the door. He then thought, 'I'll get to the bottom of this, sooner or later.'


	26. Lost Memory

Chapter 26 – Lost Memory

_Southern Island – hotel_

Attis was sitting on the balcony of his hotel room, relaxing in his seat. One might ask why he was there in the first place. Well, Attis had been feeling tired and weak for the past week, and while he hid it very well, it caught up to him when he suddenly collapsed in the middle of one of his shifts.

Maki grew quite concerned and gave Attis a vacation pass to a hotel on one of Japan's southern islands. He tried to argue that he was alright, but he couldn't back it up as Attis nearly fell over during their argument due to weakness. That convinced Maki to give him a number of days off until he felt better.

Now Attis was on a southern island near the end of the summer season. He had arrived a few days ago and had spent the days trying to relax and meditate from time to time, as well as enjoy the sights. That did help him a bit, but for some reason Attis thought that being tired and stressed wasn't the reason Attis had these periods of weakness.

Feeling a bit jumpy, Attis got out of his seat and headed for the lobby. As he walked by the halls he heard that there was a national surfing competition taking place, which made him think, 'Hmm, I wonder if Kaito's going to be here?'

When he reached the lobby, Attis' first instinct was to find the restaurant area, and he walked by, not noticing those around him when a trio of voices said, "…Attis?"

Attis whipped around, only to find Lucia, Hanon, and Rina standing by the entrance, as well as Hippo. Surprised by their appearances, he walked over to them saying, "Wow, now this is a surprise. What are you four doing here?"

Lucia was the one to answer that as she replied, "We won tickets at a raffle and we came here to cheer Kaito on at the competition!"

"That's mostly just you Lucia." Hanon said. Attis noticed that Rina seemed peeved about something but didn't say anything about it as Hanon asked, "What about you Attis?"

Suddenly Attis felt a bit of weakness and winced a bit before replying, "Oh, Maki-san gave me this pass to this hotel, since he thinks that I've been stressed out lately. I'm just staying here to relax for a bit."

Rina looked at him and asked, "…Are you sure that you're alright Attis? I mean, you look a bit pale there."

"Don't worry about it. I've just not been feeling myself lately…" Attis replied, waving it off. Lucia and Hanon looked at each other, wondering if he really was alright as Attis said to them, "Well, I guess I'll see you all later then…"

As they watched Attis walk away, Lucia asked, "Is Attis really alright? He's acting differently than usual…"

"I'm not sure, but at least we know where Attis is now." Rina said, "It was a bit of a surprise when he just took off like that."

The three of them nodded as Hippo just stood there and thought, 'I really wonder if Attis-san is alright. It looks like his energy is being drained from him for some reason…'

When Attis reached the restaurant, he ordered a meal and started eating while thinking, 'Okay, Kaito's here, and the three Mermaid Princesses plus Hippo are here too. I know that Lucia would really want to be here to cheer on Kaito, but the way she, Hanon, and Rina got here makes me wonder if this really is a coincidence.'

Attis' mind was lost in thought as he ate his meal. After paying for it and leaving, Attis headed straight for his room, feeling a bit tired for some reason. He thought, 'Why on earth am I feeling this way…?'

When he was in his room, he laid down on the bed and thought, 'Might as well get some sleep in. Let's see how that does…'

* * *

_Gaito's castle_

Mayluna was walking towards the main throne room where Noel and Coco were being held when she heard voices and thought, 'Hmm, I wonder what those four are up to now…'

She got closer and then she heard Eriru say, "Why do we keep losing to those Mermaid Princesses?" Mayluna raised an eyebrow as both Izuru and Maria thought about it. That's when Eriru said, "It's because…their allies always arrive afterwards and save them from us, especially that Keyblade warrior!"

"…You're right about that…" Izuru pondered. Eriru explained, "There are three Mermaid Princesses, and four of us. If we just organize all our powers, the Mermaid Princesses won't even be a challenge for us!"

"You have a point there, but what about the Keyblade warrior. I know firsthand that he's a tough fighting opponent, and he has quite the fighting experience. Even if we manage to trap the Mermaid Princesses, he'll just come along and beat us when our backs are turned." Maria said.

"Hmm, how do we deal with him then?" Izuru asked. Eriru suggested, "Maybe we can gang up on him when he lowers his guard?"

"But we don't even know where he is." Maria said. That's when Mayluna said, "Maybe I can help you out there Dark Lovers…"

Izuru, Eriru, and Maria jumped at the sound of Mayluna's voice, while Yuri was still too preoccupied with thoughts of Hippo to notice. Mayluna walked up to them and said, "I can keep the Keyblade warrior preoccupied with Heartless while you three handle the Mermaid Princesses."

Izuru and Eriru seemed a bit distrustful of Mayluna, but Maria assured them, "Don't worry you two, if Mayluna helps us, it will make capturing the Mermaid Princesses much easier."

"…If you say so." Both Izuru and Eriru said. Mayluna nodded and she reached for her hood and took it off, revealing her face to them saying, "Don't worry, you girls can trust me on this one."

Mayluna gave them a smile and they seemed to ease up. Then Izuru shouted, "Hey Yuri, stop daydreaming and get over here! We need to start laying out our plan for the Mermaid Princesses!"

Yuri snapped out of her daydreams and put the handkerchief into one of her pockets as she said, "Sorry, I'm coming!"

As they talked about their plans, Mayluna thought to herself, 'It's too bad that these girls can't fully control the Heartless. I heard from Gaito that he's bringing in some more 'help', so I wonder if the newcomers will be able to…'

* * *

_Southern Island – hotel_

Later, around sunset, Attis had woken up feeling a bit better, so he headed down to the restaurant for a light dinner. He had a dreamless sleep so he thought, 'Ha…that sure made me feel better than I thought…though I still feel something's wrong.'

In the lobby he ran into Kaito so he said, "Hey Kaito, I see that you're here for the competition."

Kaito turned to him and said, "So this is where you ended up Attis. When Maki-san said you took a vacation, I didn't know this is where you would be."

"True, and I didn't hear about the National Surfing Competition until yesterday either." Attis nodded. Then Kaito took a look at Attis' face and asked, "Are you alright Attis? Your face looks a bit pale…"

"Ha ha, you sound just like Lucia and the others. Don't worry about it, I'll be fine." Attis assured him. Then he said, "I'll see you later Kaito, and hope that you'll blow away the competition tomorrow!"

"Thanks Attis." Kaito said with a smile. Attis returned it before he walked away, thought Kaito was still worried about him for a bit when he walked towards his destination.

A moment later, Attis bumped into someone sending him back a bit. He said, "Oh, I'm really sorry…Mitsuki-san?"

The person that Attis bumped into was none other than Taro in a tuxedo. He looked towards Attis and said, "Oh, Attis-san, this is a surprise, seeing you here. Though I did hear something about it a few days ago…"

"I guess I'm not the only one surprised here then." Attis smirked, "So, what brings you here Mitsuki-san?"

"I'm here to perform for a few days, since the school has given a small vacation." Taro replied. Attis nodded in understanding when Taro noticed Attis' pale face and asked, "Are you alright Attis-san? You look pale for some reason…"

"Hoh boy, I really must look bad if everyone keeps asking that. Anyway, don't worry about it; I'm just feeling slightly under the weather, that's all. It's nothing serious." Attis replied. Taro still seemed a bit concerned when he suggested, "Why don't you come with me. I'm about to do a performance and maybe some music might help you feel better."

Attis thought about it for a moment before he replied, "…Sure, why not. Maybe it will help me."

Taro nodded and Attis followed him out into the outside patio. Sitting in one of the chairs at the very front, he waited as the seats started to get filled and heard Hanon say, "Oh, look there's a few seats where Attis is!"

Looking around, he saw Hanon, Rina, and Hippo sit at the table he was at and said, "Why am I not surprised to see you here Hanon?"

"…And what is that supposed to mean Attis?" Hanon asked keenly. Attis replied, "Oh nothing, don't worry about it."

"It looks like you're looking better Attis." Rina commented.

Giving a nod, Attis said, "Yeah, though I still feel a bit off, but maybe Mitsuki-san's music might help me feel better."

"I know what you mean Attis, since Taro-chan's music is very relaxing." Hanon said, "Aah! I wonder how much longer until it starts! Taro-chan!"

Wincing at the last part, Attis turned to his left and to his surprise, saw Caren walk by. His head flashed in pain for a moment but he managed to hide it from the others, while Rina noticed Caren also and a number of thoughts flew through her mind. She got up making Hanon ask, "Rina, where are you going?"

Rina didn't reply as she walked off, making Attis think, 'That's weird…maybe it has something to do with Caren?'

That's when Taro walked onto the stage and Attis clapped with the rest of the audience, while Hanon was more than enthusiastic about it shouting Taro's name, making Hippo talking her down saying, "Hanon-san, this isn't an idol concert."

Hanon told Hippo to zip it while Taro started playing the piano. For some reason, Attis started to really relax at the sound of the piano playing, and his mind felt at peace too. He thought, 'Wow, I've never felt like this before… Is it really the music?'

After the concert, Attis went back to his room after a light dinner. Sitting on his bed, Attis' thoughts turned towards Caren and thought, 'I wonder why she's here… It doesn't make much sense, even if she is a mermaid, unless…she's actually a Mermaid Princes-!'

Suddenly, a splitting pain came across Attis' mind, and it took all of his willpower not to scream out like crazy. It lasted for a while until Attis fainted from all the pain and just collapsed there on the bed.

* * *

_Dreamstate – Awakening_

Aine was by herself, standing in the middle of the platform, wondering what was wrong with Attis. She had a faint connection to him, but she had felt the pain in his head and his internal scream. Aine panicked for a second before she calmed down and called out, "Aqua Regina-sama, what's wrong with Onii-chan?"

A faint outline of Aqua Regina appeared in front of Aine, and she replied, "Attis' lost memories are trying to reach him, but there's a powerful lock on them, causing him pain. Unless he can figure out how to properly unlock them, he will experience terrible pain every time he tries to reach out to them."

"Do those memories concern the current Blue and Purple Pearl Princesses?" Aine asked.

"Mostly yes, they do, and it saddens me that I cannot help him in any way in my current state. All we can hope for is that he is strong enough to break the look and regain his lost power." Aqua Regina replied.

"Solaris, Lunaria, and the Castle Key…" Aine muttered. Then she asked, "Then what about his periods of weakness? Is it related to this lock?"

"Probably, though it might have something to due with the Red Pearl I gave him. It's probably trying to adapt to him, making him its rightful owner, draining his energy in the process." Aqua Regina suggested.

Aine looked at Aqua Regina in confusion and said, "So, if Onii-chan comes through, then he'll be the proper owner of the Red Pearl, like the Mermaid Princesses?"

"Most likely, though what I just said is probably just a speculation." Aqua Regina said to Aine. All Aine could due is just sigh as Aqua Regina vanished before her and think, 'You better get out of this one alive Onii-chan…'

* * *

_Southern Island – hotel_

Attis woke up abruptly the next morning, after going through what was dreaming about the worst moments of his life all in one go. That disturbed him greatly as he got up, finding himself still in his day clothes. He thought to himself, 'What the heck happened last night?! All I can remember is something about Caren and this extreme pain…'

Shaking his head, Attis went to his room's bathroom and took a light shower before changing. After that he got out and started walking down the hallway, that's when he saw Lucia walking away from Kaito. Seeing the bandage around Kaito's ankle, he walked over saying, "What happened to you Kaito?"

"Hey Attis," Kaito said, looking at him, "I sprained my ankle yesterday, and I didn't notice until later today."

"But isn't the competition today?" Attis asked, "Don't tell me that you're still planning to enter?!"

"I have to, there's a very good reason that I have to enter." Kaito told him firmly.

Attis was in a bit of a dilemma until he thought of something and said, "…Why don't you come to my room for a bit? I have something that might help."

Kaito was confused by that but he followed Attis anyway, while Attis thought, 'I hope I'm doing the right thing here…'

When they reached Attis' room, he asked, "Kaito what I am to ask might surprise you but, do you believe in magic?"

"W-what?" Kaito replied, a bit confused. However Attis looked at him expecting a response and said, "Uh sure, if mermaids exist, then magic must also right?"

"Good answer." Attis replied, as Aqualis appeared in his hand. Aqualis' appearance surprised Kaito a bit and Attis explained, "This is a Keyblade, and it'll help you in just a bit."

"A…Keyblade…?" Kaito said confused, the term seemingly familiar to him, yet he had never heard of it before. That's when Attis pointed Aqualis to Kaito's ankle and said, "Cure!"

A small wave of healing energy surrounded Kaito's ankle and when it faded Attis asked, "How do you feel Kaito?"

Getting up, Kaito tested his ankle and found that it didn't hurt as badly anymore. He could stand on it but it still felt a bit sore. He replied, "It's much better, though it feels a bit sore though."

"Sorry about that," Attis apologized, "If I was feeling better then I would've been able to heal it completely, but that's all I can do for you."

Kaito put his hand on Attis' shoulder and said with a smile, "Don't worry about it. At least not I have a better chance of winning thanks to you." Attis nodded and said, "Go blow away the competition Kaito, I'll be watching from here. Oh, and please don't mention to anyone about the Keyblade and such."

"Don't worry, your secret's safe with me." Kaito said with a grin as he left Attis' room. Going over to the balcony, Attis could see the competition quite easily from his position. Taking out a pair of binoculars, he looked around and thought, 'Hope the competition goes well…'

Watching from the balcony, he saw the various surfers go, with Kaito being the last one. After all of that, judging from the crowd applauding around him, Attis figured that Kaito won the competition and thought, 'Damn, that guy's good. Wish I could feel the same way though…'

All of a sudden, the Red Pearl started pulsing from its necklace and from what Attis could tell, he felt that it meant that at least one of the Mermaid Princesses were in danger. With that, Attis bolted out of the room, and ran all the way through the hotel until he got outside, forgetting about everything else.

When he reached an area with trees and bushes, Attis changed into his cloak and headed towards a secluded beach. He was about to dive into the water when Heartless showed up, consisting of Defenders, blocking his way. Turning around, he found Shadows, Soldiers, and a few Wizards blocking his escape. Large Bodies appeared from the sides and Attis found himself surrounded.

Summoning Aqualis to his side, he spat, "This is Mayluna's work, it's obvious that she's trying to stop me from reaching the Mermaid Princesses." Taking out the Red Pearl and fusing it to Aqualis, he shouted, "Out of the way!" and sliced through a Soldier that tried to jump him.

The Heartless were tough, and thanks to Attis' weakened state, were difficult to defeat, despite his determination. Eventually, Attis managed to defeat them, and it had left him injured and drained. Taking an Elixir out of his pocket and drinking it, Attis was about to head for the ocean when he heard a roar and said, "Oh no, that definitely didn't sound good."

Suddenly, a giant Heartless broke through the ocean surface and Attis got a really good look at it. The Heartless' eyes were the same as the others, a glowing yellow, yet the rest of it looked like a serpentine dragon, resembling the water dragons that Izuru summons, except it was black, purple and white in color. He could see the Heartless Emblem on part of it's underbelly and thought, 'God, this day just keeps getting worse!'

The Red Pearl in Aqualis started flashing again and Attis knew that the girls were still in a pinch, but he had to get through this dragon Heartless, which his Scan ability identified as Draconista. The Heartless made a dive at Attis, trying to devour him, but he got out of the way at the last second and tried striking it with Aqualis.

Soon, Attis had to use magic to strike at Draconista since its head was too far up for him to reach with his Keyblade. However, using a lot of magic drained Attis most of what energy he had and started to lose his focus. He shook it off as the Heartless went in for another charge, and it bashed Attis with the side of his head, sending him flying back.

Rolling on the ground, Attis got up painfully as he cast a Cura spell on himself thinking, 'Man, that Heartless is a monster, and being attacked in my current state isn't helping!'

Attis ran forward and attacked Draconista with Aqualis, and he managed to get up on top of it. He started striking it from there and the Heartless started screeching in pain. It swung its head around to try and get it off, and Attis had to slam Aqualis into Draconista, holding onto the Keyblade for dear life as the Heartless thrashed.

Aqualis came loose and Attis was thrown off, but luckily, he wasn't far from the ground, so all he got was a slight bruise on his side. Draconista wasn't very happy about the little rodeo performance, and it started blasting dark fireballs at him. Attis had to run around, dodging the fireballs in order to not get roasted, but he did get hit from some of the after explosions, causing a bad burn to his shoulder, going right through his cloak.

Despite the pain, Attis went on the offensive against Draconista, and soon, he managed to inflict quite the amount of damage to the Heartless. However, it still seemed like Draconista had a lot of fight left in it. The Heartless went in for another bite, and Attis dodged that one, but then it went for another one and Aqualis got caught in it's teeth.

It was only a second that Attis realized what had just happened and held on for dear life as Draconista started shaking it's head, making Attis feel sicker than usual. Suddenly, it turned towards the ocean and before Attis knew it, Draconista dove towards the ocean making him shout, "Oh shiiiiiiiii-!" before there was a huge splash and both he and the Heartless went under.

As the waves dissipated, a number of people started showing up, as others had run away claiming that they had seen a huge purple and black sea serpent rise up from the ocean. They saw someone trying to fight it, but thanks to Draconista's rampage, no one wanted to get near it.

Kaito was among the people who were looking at the area and thought, 'Why do I have this feeling that Attis was somehow involved?'

Meanwhile under the sea, Lucia, Hanon, and Rina had just been saved by Caren from the Dark Lovers, and the two sides were staring at each other. Suddenly, their pearls started flashing and Lucia asked, "What is this?"

"Wait a minute; doesn't Attis have the Red Pearl with him?" Hanon asked, "Then that means…!"

Suddenly they heard a deafening roar and the four Princesses turned to the source, only to see Draconista swimming quite fast towards them. The four Mermaid Princesses saw the Emblem on its belly and Lucia, Hanon, and Rina shouted, "Heartless?!"

"Heartless?!" Caren repeated, finding it hard to believe that it was actually a Heartless.

That's when Draconista jerked its head, and they saw something flying towards them. When it got closer the girls saw that it was actually Attis in a beaten-up state flying towards them. He was close to them when he stopped and spat, "Ugh, I think I'm starting to hate roller coasters…"

Attis looked down at the Red Pearl, and saw that it had stopped flashing. Then he turned around and saw the Mermaid Princesses staring at him with surprised looks on their faces as Draconista somehow turned itself into stone and was now resting on the sea floor. He said, "I see that everyone's alright?"


	27. The Fourth Mermaid Princess

Chapter 27 – The Fourth Mermaid Princess

_Underwater Ocean_

Attis was floating in front of the four Mermaid Princesses with his hood off, since it was blown off during his fight with Draconista. Seeing his injuries, Lucia, Hanon, and Rina rushed to his side as Caren looked at Attis with a bit of concern on her face, but she kept her distance as the Live Stage vanished from around her.

Attis was wincing a bit as Lucia asked, "Attis, what happened to you?!"

"Got ambushed by Heartless, then got attacked by _that_." Attis replied, pointing Aqualis towards the petrified Draconista. He pointed Aqualis over his head and said, "C-Cura."

The magic started healing some of his wounds as he took out a Hi-Potion and downed it, speeding up the recovery process. The girls saw his wounds starting to heal and when Attis saw Caren, he said, "Oooh, another Mermaid Princess! She's cute, reminds me of that Caren girl that I met a while ago…"

Attis was a bit fuzzy in the head, so he didn't realize what he just said as Caren blushed a bit. Having his wounds heal with a mixture of magic and a recovery item tended to do that to him. However, Lucia and Hanon remembered that Caren was in front of them and as they turned to her, Caren's demeanor went back to it's previous state while Rina watched over Attis, who was still slightly delirious. Lucia said, "Thank you for saving us! Um…what's your name?"

Caren sighed and replied, "I'm Caren, the Mermaid Princess from the Antarctic Ocean."

Attis was starting to snap out of it, but he was still in a bit of a daze as he heard Lucia say in a happy voice, "Caren…so you're the Antarctic Ocean Mermaid Princess!"

As Lucia and Hanon were happy to see that one more Mermaid Princess joined their ranks, Attis asked, "Ow…Rina? What's going on?"

Before Rina could say anything, Caren clarified something, "Hold on. Who said I'd be your friend? Don't decide things by yourself." She turned her back to them and added, "Such a joke…for anyone to work with you…"

Caren trailed off at the end for some reason, while Attis found that Caren's attitude was somewhat familiar for some reason. That's when Rina answered Attis' question in a whisper, "She's Caren, the Antarctic Mermaid Princess."

Again, Attis found that familiar as he realized Caren's identity. Rina stared at Caren, looking like she was looking for something that Attis couldn't put his finger on. That's when Lucia and Hanon went over to Caren with Hanon demanding, "Caren, what do you mean by saying that you wouldn't be our friend?!"

Lucia argued, "Aqua Regina-sama said that we need to combine our powers as Mermaid Princesses so we can fight!"

With her back still turned to them, Caren asked, "What had Aqua Regina-sama even done for us?" That's when Attis started to feel a pain in the back of his head, while Caren said, "She's let our kingdoms be stolen from us and has let the other Mermaid Princesses get captured." She added with a bitter aftertaste, "All she's given us is sadness…"

Again, Lucia tried to argue, "Th-that's we Mermaid Princesses have to work-!" Suddenly, Caren cut her off shouting, "I've heard enough already!" Attis winced as the pain in the back of his head started to get stronger and he started panting a bit catching Rina's eye.

Rina was about to ask what was wrong when she heard Caren say, "In the end, when it comes down to it, a person would run away instead of protecting what's important to her." She looked up at Rina and asked, "Isn't that right Rina?"

The pain made Attis hold his head with his free hand, which Caren noticed, while Rina replied with her own question, "What do you mean by that?"

Attis started to breathe in and out deeply, and the pain became bearable as Caren said, "Maybe if I say this, you'll understand. Oh, and On-, ahem, I mean Attis, maybe this will help jog your memory: I'm the younger twin sister of the Mermaid Princess of the Arctic Ocean, Noel!"

Rina was shocked by that, while Attis tried to process that as he thought, 'Arctic Mermaid Princess…? Twin…? Noel…Caren…?' He turned around to try and think as both Lucia and Hanon turned to their friend, looking for answers. Attis was trying hard to think about it, that he didn't hear what was said next.

Suddenly, a wave of splitting pain pierced his head, just as he heard a voice in his head say, 'It's nice to meet you Mr. Attis!' At the same time he heard Caren shout, "You traitor!"

Attis started moaning in pain, which caught the attention of the Mermaid Princesses. Caren tried to go over to Attis, but at that moment, there was a loud roar, and they saw Draconista shed it's stone layer, and saw that it was as good as new.

The roar made the pain go away with a snap and Attis readied Aqualis saying, "You four better get out of here now!"

The four Mermaid Princesses were hesitant about it, but deep down, they knew that if they stayed, they would only be in the way. Caren thought to herself, 'I wish there was something I could do to help…!'

As if Caren's call for help was answered, something started glowing in Attis' left hand, and suddenly, Lunaria appeared in his hand. Shocked by it, he heard a voice that was familiar saying, 'I'll lend you my power this once Attis, since the Purple Princess asked.'

Seeing Lunaria in Attis' hand surprised Lucia, Hanon, and Rina, despite seeing it once before, but what Caren eyed was the Keychain that was attached to Lunaria. It was the crystal encased purple orb attached to a chain, something that Caren recognized thinking, 'Th-that's the charm I gave Onii-chan ten years ago! He still has it…'

Wielding Aqualis and Lunaria together, Attis thought, 'An odd combination, but this will have to do.' Draconista fired a huge orb of darkness right at Attis, which he managed to deflect with Lunaria as he said, "Please Princesses, get out of here while I keep this Heartless occupied."

"…I understand Attis." Caren said calmly, and she swam away thinking, 'You better come out of this alive Onii-chan, or else I really won't forgive you for just disappearing like that ten years ago…'

Lucia and Hanon knew that they had to leave, but when Rina was just floating there, Hanon said, "Rina, we need to go now!"

"Huh? Oh right…" Rina said, sounding a bit distracted. As the three mermaids swam away towards the shore, Attis wondered about that, but he had to abandoned that thought when Draconista started to swim towards him, firing blasts of ice at him now.

Looking up, Attis' eyes were now icy blue as he stayed calm and used reaction dodges to avoid the attacks. Then he cast Hastera on himself and propelled himself forwards towards the Heartless,

When it got closer Attis aimed a Blizzard spell right at Draconista's eye, he hit it right on, making it wince and crash onto the ocean floor. Then Attis right to start beating it's head with Aqualis and Lunaria, but felt that his attacks weren't very effective as the Draconista started to recover from the stunning freeze.

Backing off, Attis made some distance between himself and the Heartless and it started firing large orbs of darkness again. This time he was prepare and started hitting them back at just at the right time, and the orbs hit Draconista's underbelly, right on the emblem, causing it to roar in pain.

As he hit back the last one, Attis saw that the Heartless' emblem was it's weak spot and that lowered his guard as he was hit by another dark orb that he wasn't expecting. He coughed and said, "Gah, damn that stung…!"

That's when he found that both Aqualis and Lunaria's tips were glowing with a white light and he had an idea how to finish this quickly. Swimming towards Draconista, it tried to take another bite out of him, and he narrowly dodged being eaten, and fired off a Blizzara spell right at it's eye, freezing it. The Heartless thrashed in pain before landing on the sea floor, completely stunned.

Attis then swam over to Draconista's underbelly, since it was lying on the seafloor on it's side, and pointed both Aqualis and Lunaria towards the emblem thinking, 'I hope this works…!'

Twin beams of light hit the Heartless Emblem and seemed to pierce right through it. For a second, Attis thought it didn't work when he saw Draconista start to thrash rather violently before it fell back down to the ground, with a crystal heart rising out of it and vanishing in a flicker of light. The body vanished as well, leaving a really exhausted Attis. Both Aqualis and Lunaria vanished and Attis quickly made his way to shore, having a number of thoughts on his mind.

* * *

_Southern Island – Coastline_

A bit later that night, the clouds had fallen in, and Attis was busy wandering by himself. He had kept his cloak on and hooded himself, so that no one would recognize him. His thoughts were full of what had happened earlier between him and the four Mermaid Princesses, and he saw that Caren wasn't very fond of the other three. However what had him irked was that Caren's attitude seemed to soften a bit when she addressed him, and he wondered about that.

Every time he thought about both Caren and Noel, his head would start having a splitting headache. Attis was starting to get ticked at that and wondered if his memory was locked somehow, and if it was, he was considering whacking himself with Aqualis to see if that would work when he heard someone crying.

Looking around, Attis saw Rina on a rock nearby with her face in her hands, crying. That got Attis concerned, and he wondered if he should approach her. Attis wrestled with that idea for a moment and checking up on her won through, so he quietly walked up to Rina and asked in a soft voice, "…Rina?"

Attis' voice startled the heck out of Rina as she whipped around, only to find him standing behind him. Attis saw that Rina's eyes were red and he didn't say anything as she turned around and said, "Go away."

"…No." was Attis' simple reply. Rina seemed to get angry at that as she said in a harsh voice, "Go away Attis."

"…I won't." Attis replied in a deadpan voice. Rina got really angry and shouted, "Why don't you just go away?!"

"…Because, you're out here alone and apparently vulnerable. What if you fall into the ocean and a water demon catches you?" Attis said to her. Rina turned around with her hands balled into fist when Attis lowered his hood and she saw that Attis didn't look like himself at all. He was pale and his hair was limp, something that made him look half dead.

Despite that Attis looked at her with hardened eyes and all Rina could do was walk away. However, Attis grabbed her hand and before she could say anything, he said, "You know, survivor's guilt isn't something you should be holding onto for very long Rina…"

Rina was shocked at that as Attis looked at her before he walked away. She tried calling out to him, but found that her voice wouldn't come out, and she was frozen on the spot as he walked out of sight.

* * *

_Gaito's castle_

Mayluna was standing at the side as Gaito addressed the Black Beauty Sisters, who were called by Gaito since the Dark Lovers weren't working up to Gaito's expectations. She found that the sisters seemed to radiate darkness much more than the Dark Lovers did and it interested her.

She stepped up to them and said, "If I may Lord Gaito, I want to ask the Black Beauty Sisters something."

"Go right ahead." Gaito replied. The Black Beauty Sisters, Sheshe and Mimi, turned to them and Sheshe said, "Oh my, you seem to radiate quite the darkness Miss Mayluna."

"How true, it's quite marvelous, if I do say so myself." Mimi added.

"Fu fu, why thank you ladies, but let's get back on track." Mayluna said with a giggle, "Are you ladies capable of controlling the Heartless?"

"Does this answer your question?" The Black Beauty Sisters asked, snapping their fingers. A bunch of Neoshadows popped out of the ground and Mayluna gave a smirk saying, "Yes, that does answer my question perfectly. That means I can give you this." She snapped her fingers and a new type of Heartless appeared behind her.

The appearance certainly surprised the Black Beauty Sisters as Mayluna said, "The Keyblade wielder is with them, so you can use this to fend him off. With your abilities that I have heard of, I'm sure this Reaper Scythe will be of great help."

The Black Beauty Sisters and even Gaito smiled at that as the Reaper Scythe flew over to the Black Beauty Sisters before vanishing with the Neoshadows.

* * *

_Southern Island – outside of the hotel_

It had started raining, yet Attis continued to roam around the hotel's premises, looking like he was searching for something. In truth, Attis was in deep thought trying hard to remember the missing parts of his past, despite the pain.

This had left him in a slightly numbed state, though Attis didn't notice it himself, and just wandered aimlessly. He had encountered a Shadow or two, but with a quick flash from Aqualis, the Heartless were dispatched in an instant.

Meanwhile, Lucia and Hanon were with Rina, trying to get her to open up with no avail. Rina walked away, just as Lucia pointed out of the window saying, "Hey, isn't that Attis out there?"

Hanon looked out the window, and sure enough, Attis was standing right in front of the piano in the middle of the rain. Hanon saw that the rain was dripping down his cloak and said, "What the heck is he doing out there? He's going to get sicker than he already is!"

Attis turned to look at them before he walked away, silent as a rock. Attis wondered why he was outside in the rain in the first place. For some reason, it was like wandering around aimlessly was the right thing to do for some reason and he thought, '…Why am I doing this? It's not like my memory's going to return just like that if I just walk around like a zombie.' He stopped for a moment and took out a Potion, drinking it before he kept walking.

Later, after the rain had stopped, Attis was standing on top of a rock, thinking to himself when he saw a ball of light floating across the ocean. He squinted and saw that it was Caren who was trapped inside it and thought, 'Oh no, this isn't good!'

Attis made his way towards it and saw Lucia, Hanon, and Rina standing on the shore nearby. They too saw it and as he approached Attis said, "Hey girls, did you see that ball of light?"

"Yeah, and Caren's trapped inside it." Rina replied. Attis nodded and said, "Well, let's go then!" The four of them dove into the ocean, going after the captured Caren.

* * *

_Underwater_

Around the same time, Caren was glaring angrily at Sheshe and Mimi from her bubble prison, which made Sheshe say, "What a magnificent look of hatred on your face. You look simply marvelous like that, Purple Pearl Mermaid Princess-sama."

"How true!" Mimi agreed, "But I'm sure that if we wait just a little longer, then we'll have our choice of the pink, aqua, green, and even red pearls as well."

Caren was shocked and shouted, "You captured me just to lure those other four?!"

"Actually…we're going to capture the Mermaid Princesses only." Sheshe told her. Mimi added, "As for that Keyblade wielder, let's just say he's going to be, disposed of, if you know what I mean. Gaito's orders and all."

"Say what?!" Caren shouted in shock, as the Black Beauty Sisters smiled at each other. She grew worried for Attis and thought, 'No, they can't mean that…'

Back to the group, Attis was following the three Princesses in front of him, when Lucia pointed to a certain spot and said, "Ah, she's over there!"

They saw Caren in her bubble not far away and the four swam towards her. Meanwhile Caren was frantically shouting, "Don't come! Go back! Please…!"

That's when Sheshe and Mimi came out of their hiding places and confronted the group. Attis summoned Aqualis while Lucia demanded, "Who are you?"

The two of them laughed as Sheshe said, "We're the Black Beauty Sisters. I'm the older sister, Sheshe!" Then Mimi introduced herself, "Same goes for me. I'm the younger sister, Mimi!"

Attis groaned inwardly and thought sarcastically, 'Oh great, the S&M sisters… What will Gaito think of next?' However, he felt something weird about them as they hugged each other and asked, "Would you like a dark temptation tonight?"

"Oh man, they're almost as bad as Mayluna…" Attis muttered as the sisters raised their hands and shouted, "Deep Sea Flash."

A bright light illuminated from the fish around them and Attis brought up Aqualis to shield himself, while the Mermaid Princesses covered their eyes with their arms. The Black Beauty Sisters laughed at them, while the girls didn't like it one bit.

That's when Sheshe asked, "Now then Princesses, shall we go?" Mimi added, "Join our paradise beneath the sea's surface. As for the Keyblade warrior, you can just die." Sheshe and Mimi snapped their fingers and Screwdivers appeared around Attis, surrounding him.

Attis readied himself as Lucia shouted, "Attis! Who would join someone like you?!" Hanon also added, "We completely refuse!"

Sheshe was about to say something when everyone heard popping noises, and they turned to see that Attis had dispatched all of the Screwdivers around them, their hearts rising towards the surface. His hood slipped off him, revealing that his eyes had turned icy blue as he pointed Aqualis, which had the Red Pearl fused to it, to them saying, "I'm afraid I can't comply with that request ladies."

"Hmm, how wonderful. They're pretty enthusiastic about it, Sister Mimi." Sheshe observed. Mimi said, "How true, and the Keyblade wielder is as strong as she said too. I hope that we don't disappoint them, Sister Sheshe."

Then they blew bubbles at them and Caren shouted, "Watch out! If those bubbles touch you, you'll get caught like I am now!"

Rina immediately pulled Lucia and Hanon upwards to avoid the bubbles, while Attis just spun his Keyblade around and shouted, "Reflect!" Then a barrier appeared and the bubbles just burst harmlessly against it before it faded.

The Mermaid Princesses transformed into their idol forms, while the Black Beauty Sisters snapped their fingers and summoned the Reaper Scythe that Mayluna had gave them. It looked similar to a Phantom Heartless, but it had a pitch black cloak that made it look like Death, with a hood that had two yellow eyes visible underneath it. In its hands was a scythe, with the blade looking similar to a Soul Eater blade, with a Heartless Emblem on each side.

Sheshe ordered, "Take down the Keyblade wielder!" The Reaper Scythe instantly complied and attacked Attis, forcing him to block and retaliate. Meanwhile, the Mermaid Princesses saw that Attis was being attacked, but turned their attention to the Black Beauty Sisters.

Then Lucia, Hanon, and Rina started singing Super Love Songs to them, though Sheshe and Mimi seemed to be completely unaffected by it. In their opinion, they found the fight between the Reaper Scythe and Attis to be much more interesting and half of their attention was focused on that.

Attis admitted, 'This Heartless sure knows how to fight!' He dodged a swipe that was aimed to decapitate his head and fought back with a combo of strikes. Caren too was watching as she gasped when the Reaper Scythe pulled back its scythe, and the tip dug into Attis' back a bit, causing a bit of blood to flow as he groaned in agony.

When Lucia, Hanon, and Rina stopped singing, they saw that their song had no effect, and they saw blood flowing out of Attis' back when he went on the offensive, making them gasp at the sight. However Lucia eyed Sheshe and Mimi and said, "Our song doesn't work on them?!"

"It's just like with Mayluna…" Rina whispered, while Hanon said, "They're mocking us with those composed faces of theirs!"

The two sisters laughed as Caren explained sadly, "I'm sorry, but your voices won't reach them." Then she urged them, "Please, hurry and run away!"

Rina shook her head and said, "I'm not running." Lucia and Hanon looked concerned as Rina shouted, "On that day, I vowed that I'd never leave anyone behind again!"

"It's useless," Caren said, "Your powers aren't enough!"

"Then we'll just have to go with the old fashioned beating with the Keyblade trick then!" Attis shouted, as he slashed right down the Reaper Scythe, making it fly back. That's when Sheshe asked, "Is your little stage over yet?"

"If it is, then now it's our turn as your rivals!" Mimi said, as they held microphones that were on the ends of their tails, while a red version of the Live Stage surrounded them. Attis didn't like the look of it one bit and rushed right over and tried to attack them, but Aqualis bounced off of the red Live Stage and the two sisters laughed at his attempt.

Suddenly the two of them shouted, "It's Show Time!"

_Voice in the Dark!_

_ Yami no ~Foria~_

All of a sudden, Lucia, Hanon, and Rina started clutching their heads in pain, making Attis shout, "What's wrong girls?!"

_Shinju no kizuna ubae_

That's when Attis felt a strong pulse of darkness nearby, and saw that the Reaper Scythe was getting stronger somehow. Suddenly, it flew right over to Attis faster than he could see and smashed its scythe right into him. He barely managed to bring Aqualis up to guard as he was sent flying, making Caren shout, "Attis!"

_Voice in the Dark!_

_ Saa! Hajimaru utsukushiku karei na show_

_ Voice in the Dark!_

_ Uta ni nosete_

_ Kodama suru yami no chikara_

Lucia, Hanon, and Rina were in pain, while Attis was being bashed around by a stronger, faster Reaper Scythe. As he blocked the blows, Attis thought to himself, 'Damn, those water demons can sing, and it looks like the song strengthens the Heartless!'

Attis could barely get any hits in, while the Reaper Scythe's scythe was starting to tear at Attis, despite his best attempts to block them. Caren couldn't help but feel horrified and helpless at the scene, as she looked on.

_Heiwa nante maboroshi_

_ Kagami ni utsuranu mayakashi_

_ Nami no ito wo karamasetara hiki ushio ni naru_

The Reaper Scythe was starting to wear Attis down hard, and the various cuts all over his body didn't help him. Somehow, he managed to push the Heartless away and got in a Cura spell, right before the Reaper Scythe went right back on the offensive.

Attis saw the Mermaid Princesses in pain and his eyes turned red as he thought, 'This can't go on any longer!'

_Kokoro ni aru maryoku wo itazura na biyaku ni kaete_

_ Yowai mono wo madowasete yuku deshou_

Soon, light started to build up quickly in Aqualis and Attis saw what was happening. Pushing the Heartless away with a combo, he focused on that power and released it, making Aqualis shine in a white aura that extended the blade, and shouted, "I had enough!"

Attis started to attack the Reaper Scythe in such a quick and savage manner after casting Haste on himself. He struck the Heartless with blow after blow, despite the severe injuries he had, while the Black Beauty Sisters sang on.

_Voice in the Dark!_

_ Kuroi nami to kanadeu kono melody_

_ Voice in the Dark!_

_ Ai wo tomete katachi naki kusari to nare_

_ Uzumaku refrain de…_

Lucia, Hanon, and Rina slumped down in defeat, while Attis continued to strike at the Reaper Scythe. Caren couldn't look any longer and just closed her eyes, hoping it would soon be over.

_Shinju no kizuna ubae_

As the three Princesses were slumped down in defeat, Sheshe said, "As expected, the mermaid's powers are nothing compared to ours."

"Now we'll be able to take their pearls as well!" Mimi said with confidence. All of a sudden there was a flash of light that attracted the Black Beauty Sisters and Caren's attention. What they saw was a huge blade of light that Attis was holding above his head with his right hand, emanating from Aqualis. He swung it down shouting, "Heaven Splitter!"

The blade of light cut right through the Reaper Scythe, destroying it in an instant and releasing its heart. The light died down as Attis went over and went in front of the Princesses to protect them. As Lucia, Hanon, and Rina looked up, everyone saw what state Attis was in, and it wasn't pretty.

There were cuts and gashes all over Attis' body, with a big one on his back. His left arm looked like it was mangled, with cuts and gashes all over it, rendering it useless. Aqualis was in his right and Attis was gripping it tightly, despite the wounds on his right arm. There was a bit a blood going down his face as his eyes were now glowing red.

The Mermaid Princesses were horrified to see Attis in that condition as he held Aqualis up and said in a raspy voice, "If you want them, you'll have to go through me…"

Sheshe and Mimi found that hilarious as Sheshe said, "The Keyblade wielder is really funny, isn't he Sister Mimi, to be challenging us in that state."

"How true, Sister Sheshe. Let's see if he'll feel the same way when we call this." Mimi snapped her fingers and another Reaper Scythe appeared behind them. Attis didn't show it, but he cringed at the sight of another Reaper Scythe and thought, 'Oh no, I don't think that I can handle another round…'

Caren saw that the situation was starting to go downhill and she grabbed her pearl necklace and thought, 'I was going to use the power I stored away in my pearl to save Noel, but…' She looked at Attis and thought, 'Onee-chan would want me to save Onii-chan and the others right now!'

That's when Caren held up the Purple Pearl in her hand and suddenly, a bright light started to shine from it, blinding the Black Beauty Sisters. Suddenly, the pearl traveled from Caren over to Lucia, Hanon, and Rina, breaking their Live Stage and returning them to their mermaid forms. In Rina's hand she held the glowing Purple Pearl.

"Get away! They can't move while they're bathed in the light of my pearl! Now's your only chance!" That's when Caren fainted, but then Sheshe shouted, "We won't let that happen! Go capture the Mermaid Princesses Reaper Scythe!"

The Heartless complied and was able to withstand the light from the Purple Pearl. The Mermaid Princesses were frozen in fear as the Heartless approached, when suddenly Attis raised Aqualis and the Red Pearl within it started to shine like the Purple Pearl did. The light kept the Heartless at bay as Attis threw Aqualis, towards Lucia, who caught it shouting, "Attis?!"

"I'm going to get you girls to safety now with a Teleport spell." Attis said. He raised his right arm and started focusing. That's when Rina noticed that Attis was far from them and shouted, "Wait Attis! Caren!"

"Good luck girls, and keep yourselves safe." Attis told them, feeling his conscious fading. Before it did he shouted, "Teleport!"

Aqualis reacted to Attis' spell and it teleported the Mermaid Princesses out of the area as the Reaper Scythe retreated. At the same time Attis gave a smile before slipping into unconsciousness.

Sheshe and Mimi lowered their arms to see only Attis floating in front of them unconscious. Mimi grumbled, "They got away…"

"Not all of them." Sheshe said, pointing at Attis, "Anyway, they'll be back, since we have two of their companions right here. Anyway, we might as well put him with the Purple Mermaid Princess."

Mimi nodded and the two of them used their powers and put Attis' body into the bubble with an unconscious Caren. After that, they moved the bubble to another location, confident that things will work out.

* * *

_Southern Island – beachside_

On the beach, Lucia, Hanon, and Rina were on the shore after Attis had teleported then near it. Rina was breaking down as she said, "Not again, at a crucial time like this…and now even Attis… Just what was…Just what was the reason I survived for then?!"

Lucia and Hanon couldn't say anything as Lucia clutched Aqualis in her arms while Rina continued to cry. She looked at the Purple Pearl in her hand as she whispered, "Caren…Attis…"

Suddenly Aqualis started glowing, as well as the Purple Pearl. It made the three of them look when the Purple Pearl flew over and fused itself with Aqualis, resting on the fifth hole from the hilt, leaving three holes between it and the Red Pearl.

They were silent as Lucia and Hanon helped Rina back to the hotel, with Rina's eyes glued on Aqualis in Lucia's hand as they walked back. She couldn't help but fear the worst when she remembered Attis' condition when she last saw him, and it made her cry even harder as she walked back to the hotel.


	28. An Awakening Rebirth

Chapter 28 – An Awakening Rebirth

_Underwater_

A few minutes after Attis had teleported Lucia, Hanon, and Rina away, Caren woke up and saw that the Black Beauty Sisters were busy moving her to a new location. Then she felt someone by her side and when she looked, she was shocked to see Attis in his crippled state next to her, and thought, 'Oh no, why are you here Onii-chan?!'

However, her thoughts shifted when she saw that Attis still had those injuries. Being as quiet as she can, Caren searched Attis' cloak for something that could help him, and luckily, she found something that she recognized from ten years ago, an Elixir. She opened it and Caren put Attis' head on her lap as she slipped the drink down Attis' throat.

After it had gone down Attis' throat, they saw that his wounds started to heal instantly, and she was glad that it was working. However, she started to feel tired again and fell into a slumber.

* * *

_Southern Island – beachside_

Lucia, Hanon, and Rina were standing at the beach after searching for Caren and Attis for most of the night. Rina was holding Aqualis in her hands as she stared at both the Red and Purple Pearls, while Lucia and Hanon sat down with Lucia saying, "In the end, we searched till morning, but we couldn't find either of them…"

"I'm completely worn out." Hanon said tiredly, "Let's rest for a bit and then come back to take another look." Lucia gave a nod at that and turned to Rina saying, "Let's head back Rina."

Rina was silent for a moment before she replied, "Sorry, but you two can head back to the hotel by yourselves…"

Hanon stood up and said, "Rina, you can't possibly be thinking about searching for Caren and Attis on your own, are you?"

When Rina didn't say anything, Hanon went on, "If you get caught as well, what're we going to do? Do you think either Caren or Attis would be happy if that happened?"

Lucia got up too and urged her, "Hey Rina, let's just go back to the hotel and rest. We need to regain our strength to be able to sing again. In our current state, we'll be in trouble if any Heartless show up, even if we have Aqualis with us…"

"Yeah, they know that we're here, so they're probably going to come after us again." Hanon added. Rina seemed to give in to them when she said, "Yeah…I guess so…"

With that, the three girls headed back to the hotel, though Rina gripped Aqualis and thought sadly, 'Caren…Attis…'

* * *

_Underwater – coral formation_

Around the same time, Sheshe and Mimi were looking at Caren, who had her arms wrapped around Attis protectively and was looking at them with distain. Sheshe said, "Even though Gaito-sama is waiting in his castle, the two of you don't even have your pearls. Well, I suppose for you, Purple Pearl Mermaid Princess, it only makes your 'charm' only half of what it should be."

"How true." Mimi agreed, "But don't you think that the other princesses with their pearls will show up? To save both their comrades right? Though I have to wonder if the Keyblade wielder is already long gone. He sure looks like it…"

"I suppose you're right about that…" Sheshe replied.

"Don't you dare say that!" Caren spat at them, "Do you really think the two of us need to be saved by the likes of them?! When Attis wakes up, he's going to give the two of you the beating of your lives!"

"Oh my, you seem to be quite energetic." Mimi said. Caren then removed her hands from Attis' neck and started banging on the bubble saying, "I'll get us out of this myself!"

The Black Beauty Sisters seemed amused by her attempts as Sheshe said, "Oh dear, she certainly is a rude Mermaid Princess, isn't she? Just like the Keyblade warrior." Then Sheshe put her hand to the bubble saying, "You're quite annoying; would you mind silencing yourself for a while like your friend there?"

Sheshe touched the bubble and it turned red, draining Caren of her energy. Suddenly there was a flash of light and Sheshe's power was repelled, making her say, "What?!"

Caren had to cover her eyes and when the light died, she saw both Solaris and Lunaria floating in front of her in a crisscross fashion. That's when she eyed the two pearl Keychains and Caren couldn't help but look down and smile at Attis thinking, 'Even when he doesn't remember, he's still trying to protect me…'

"Grr…it looks like the Keyblade warrior as a few tricks up his sleeve, even in the current state he's in." Sheshe said. Mimi added, "Oh really, then I guess we'll just have to do this Sister Sheshe." Mimi put her hand on the bubble and it increased in size a bit, though the space inside was the same.

At the same time, Caren grabbed both Solaris and Lunaria and started hammering the bubble with the Keyblades. On the outside, the noise couldn't be heard as Sheshe said, "Well, I guess that works…"

Then the two sisters swam away to begin the second part of their plan as Caren continued to hammer away at the bubble. Eventually she grew tired and dropped Solaris and Lunaria panting. She grew upset that she wasn't able to even put a dent in the bubble as she looked at Attis one more time and thought, 'I need your help Onii-chan…'

* * *

_Dreamstate – Awakening_

Attis found himself back in the Awakening, on the pillar that had Aqua Regina and the seven Mermaid Princesses on the stained glass picture. However, he found the feeling a bit different for some reason; it felt like there was something wrong with the quietness. Looking around, he remembered what had happened with the Mermaid Princesses and the Black Beauty sisters, and how Lucia, Hanon, and Rina managed to get away thanks to him and Caren.

Shaking his head, Attis thought, 'Okay, I know that I lost consciousness after sending the girls away with a Teleport spell, but why am I here for?'

Then, when Attis looked down and both Caren and Noel's pictures came into his field of vision, he thought, 'That's right, I have some kind of connection to those two, but why can't I remember any of it?!'

Suddenly a door appeared in the middle of the platform, and Attis turned around to see, since it caused quite a shake. The door was pearl white, though it was surrounded by black chains wrapping themselves around it and were anchored to the ground. On the middle of the door, he saw a big black lock with a keyhole in the center. Then Attis noticed that the door itself had a number of cracks, as if they were being forced open from the other side.

'That…must be the door to my lost memories!' Attis thought. He held out his hand to summon his Keyblade, and expecting Aqualis to appear, instead his Castle Key was summoned to his hand. Attis was a bit surprised by that, but he didn't complain thinking, 'Well, I guess that makes sense, and a Keyblade is a Keyblade after all…'

Pointing the Castle Key at the lock, a beam of light shot out from the tip of the Keyblade and hit the keyhole of the lock. For some reason, Attis felt some kind of resistance and put both hands on the Castle Key and put more power into it.

Eventually, the lock vanished under the Castle Key's power and the chains surrounding it slowly began to fade away. When all was left was the cracked door, Attis stepped forward, a bit nervous as to what would happen next. However, Attis gulped and pushed his fear down as he walked forward, and the doors slowly opened, bathing him in a bright light and blinding him.

* * *

_Flashback – Antarctic Palace_

When the light died, Attis opened his eyes only to find himself in a palace that looked similar to the North Pacific Palace, but it felt different for some reason. Looking around he saw that no one else was around and said, "That's weird, where the heck am I?"

That's when a few purple mermaids passed by and Attis said, "So this must be the Antarctic Palace. Then this is one of my memories!"

Suddenly Attis heard his own voice say, "Wow, this is quite an interesting place you got here Purple Princess!"

Whipping around, Attis saw himself walking with a mermaid beside him and a few behind him. Taking a closer look at the mermaid beside himself, Attis saw that she had the Purple Pearl shell necklace around her neck and thought, 'That mermaid must be the previous Purple Pearl Mermaid Princess. Looks quite different from Caren, that's for sure.'

The Purple Mermaid Princess had waist-length straight purple hair, which was tied in a ponytail at the neck. She had a small purple shell clip in her hair that kept her bangs out of her eyes and as Attis followed looking at them, he saw that her eyes were a dark purple. The Purple Mermaid Princess said with a smile, "You're too kind Attis, and please, call me Carisa. I'm sure saying 'Purple Mermaid Princess' is quite a mouthful."

"Ha ha, you're right about that Carisa." Attis heard himself say with laughter. He thought to himself, 'Well, might as well just watch.'

So Attis kept silent as he heard his past self say, "Ha, it's a shame though, to be only able to visit only four of the seven Mermaid Kingdoms. Makes me wonder why…"

"Well, the Pink, Aqua, and Green Mermaid Kingdoms have erected a barrier around their kingdoms," Carisa explained, "And apparently, the barriers won't let anything except goods and mermaids to pass through them."

"Then why don't the other kingdoms erect barriers around themselves?" Past Attis asked in confusion.

Carisa replied, "Well, it's mostly because the other four kingdoms still have efficient fighting forces." She explained, "When Aqua Regina sealed away the Panterassa clan five years ago, the Pink, Aqua, and Green Mermaid Kingdoms were the hardest hit when it came to casualties fighting the Panterassa's water demon army. The battles that you've seen Attis, consisted mostly of mermaids from the Orange, Yellow, Blue, and Purple Kingdoms."

Past Attis thought about it for a bit before he replied, "I guess that makes sense…"

Suddenly, Carisa stopped, making Attis and the mermaids accompanying them stop too as Past Attis asked, "What is it?"

That's when Carisa said, "Oh, come on out Caren, I want you to meet someone."

Both the Past and Present Attis turned around to see a young, seven year old purple mermaid peeking out from behind a pillar. At Carisa's request the mermaid came out and Attis saw that it was a seven year old Caren, while the Past Attis asked, "Oh, who's this?"

Caren swam over to Carisa's side as Carisa replied, "This is Caren, and she's going to be my successor after the darkness is taken care of." Then she turned to Caren and said, "Come on Caren, come and introduce yourself to Attis."

That's when Caren took one good look at him before she said rudely, "No way, I'm not going to introduce myself to some filthy human." Then she took off with Carisa calling out to her, "Caren!"

Past Attis had raised his eyebrow at that while Carisa turned to him saying, "I'm so sorry about that Attis. You see, some of the mermaids don't have very good opinions on humans, and it seems some of it had rubbed off onto Caren."

"Nah, it's alright. She's still just a kid anyway, right?" Past Attis said casually with a wave. Carisa just smiled and nodded saying, "Yes… Anyway, Aqua Regina-sama told me that you'll be staying for a week, so I hope that you'll find your stay enjoyable."

"Thank you very much Princess Carisa." Past Attis said with a bow. Carisa just giggled and said, "Oh, don't be like that Attis."

The other mermaids found Carisa's behavior quite peculiar but didn't say anything about it as the group kept on going. Meanwhile Attis thought, 'Wow, I didn't think that Caren was like that at first…'

* * *

Attis watched as he saw the events of the week pass by and found them from his view to be a bit hilarious. During his staying at the Antarctic Place, Attis saw himself being subject to a number of pranks caused by Caren, some of which would be on borderline hateful, thought Attis saw that his past self was quite calm about it, and never said a thing to Carisa, even though she somehow knew what was going on.

On the second to last day of his visit, Attis found himself in one of the rooms, with his past self sitting with Carisa over a cup of tea somehow. Looking around, Attis saw Caren peeking through the door, though he figured that his past self and Carisa didn't notice it. That's when he heard himself ask, "Caren has a twin sister?"

"Yes, her name is Noel, and she's going to be the successor to Neuna, the Arctic Ocean Mermaid Princess." Carisa explained to him.

"Wow, who would've figured." Past Attis mused. Then Carisa told him, "Sadly, those two have never met ever since they were born."

Both Past and Present Attis were shocked by that, as Past Attis said, "You can't be serious?! They're siblings, twins for crying out loud!"

Carisa just shook her head and said sadly, "I know…" Then she moved on to another subject saying, "Speaking of Caren, I must say that I am very sorry for the way she's been acting towards you. I'm sure some of her more hurtful actions must've affected you in some way."

"Don't worry about it; I don't care much about those things anyway." Attis told her. Carisa finished her tea and said, "Thank you Attis, and I hope things do get better soon."

That's when Carisa got up and went over to the door saying, "I have some things to attend to, so I'll see you later Attis."

Past Attis gave a nod and Carisa left the room. Attis himself stood there and thought, 'Okay, interesting memories, but there's not much regarding information that I don't already know…'

That's when there was some noise coming from the door for just a second, and both Past and Present Attis saw that. Past Attis looked at the door and asked, "Who's there?"

There was a moment of silence before the door opened, and through it came Caren with a somewhat sour look on her face. From what he could see, Attis figured that she had eavesdropped on the conversation, and Past Attis had the same thought as he said, "Oh Caren, if you're looking for Carisa she already left."

"…Why are you still here?" Caren asked softly. Past Attis couldn't hear her properly and asked, "Huh, what was that?"

Caren looked at Attis and asked, "Why is a filthy human like you even here? I thought humans aren't supposed to know about the existence of mermaids?"

Past Attis gave a sigh and said, "Well, for starters, I'm not just any ordinary human. Here, let me show you." Attis saw himself stand up and when Past Attis held out his hands, both Solaris and Lunaria appeared in his hands, surprising Caren as he said, "I'm a Keyblade wielder sent to protect the Mermaid Princesses from the Heartless."

"Heart-less…?" Caren said, looking confused. Attis nodded and said, "Well, let me tell you a few things…"

As Caren swam over and sat on the couch that Carisa was on, Attis watched himself explain what the Heartless were and the Keypers organization he was from. When Past Attis started going on about the various worlds out there, Caren became quite engrossed in the story, and hung onto Attis' every word when he started telling stories about the worlds he's been to for his missions when Caren asked.

Past Attis was in the middle of a story when a thought came to him and he asked, "Caren, you've never met your sister, Noel, was it? What do you think about her?"

Caren was caught off guard by that, and she was a bit silent before replying, "…I think Onee-chan is a nice person, and I keep on dreaming about the day that I'll finally be able to meet her."

"…I see…" Past Attis replied. Then he went on with his stories and Caren got hooked back into them.

Time passed, and when it was time for dinner, Carisa came back to find the scene and said, "Oh my, I didn't expect you to be here Caren!"

Caren happened to snap out of it and she said with a fluster, "Well, I was just bored and I asked this human here to tell me a few things, that's all."

A small smile appeared on Carisa's face as she said, "I see…well, it's dinner time, so would the two of you please come with me?"

"Of course Carisa-sama." Caren replied, and she swam over to Carisa side. Then she said, "Well, come on human, we don't have all day you know!"

Past and Present Attis raised their eyebrows at that as Past Attis just shrugged and got up to follow them. When Caren went ahead of them first Carisa turned to Past Attis and said, "Well, it looks like she's warming up to you Attis."

"What makes you think that?" Attis asked as they moved along.

"Well, she's stopped calling you a 'filthy human' now, hasn't she?" Carisa asked in a mischievous manner. Past Attis just rolled his eyes but gave a small smile as the two went forward after Caren.

* * *

On the end of the last day, Attis and his past self were at the entrance of the Antarctic Palace, with Carisa, Caren, and a number of other mermaids. Past Attis said, "Well, thank you very much for your hospitality Princess Carisa. I enjoyed my stay here, despite it's ups and downs, if you know what I mean."

"Fu fu, yes, I know. You are always welcome here anytime Keyblade wielder Attis." Carisa said with a smile. The she nudged Caren, "Caren, don't you have something to say before Attis leaves?"

Caren looked like she didn't want to say anything, but eventually, she said, "I'm sorry for all those pranks hu-, I mean, Attis." Then she huffed and swam away saying, "You better not die out there, because I still want to hear some more of those stories!"

Carisa couldn't help but lightly laugh and say, "That Caren, she's still the same as always. Anyway, where are you heading now?"

"Well, I already visited the Indian and South Pacific Palaces, so my last stop will be at the Arctic Palace." Past Attis said. Carisa nodded and said, "Well, I guess I'll see you later, and give Neuna my greetings."

"Will do Carisa." Past Attis said with a light bow as he hooded himself. As Past Attis left the palace, Attis saw that Caren was looking out at Past Attis from behind a pillar and thought, 'Wow, so this is what happened back then huh?'

* * *

_Underwater – Arctic Palace_

That's when things shifted, and the next thing Attis knew was that he found himself in a different palace, and looking around, he saw his past self standing in front of a group of blue mermaids, with two of them at the very front. When he got closer he heard his past self say, "Wow, this is quite the reception Princess Neuna."

"Please Attis, just Neuna is fine." The mermaid Past Attis addressed as the Blue Pearl Mermaid Princess said. Taking a closer look, Attis saw that Neuna had straight, blue hair, and a part of it at the back was raised and was held together by a blue shell clip. Her eyes were the same color and Attis noted that she had quite the smile as he heard his past self ask, "And who's this young mermaid?"

The seven year old mermaid at Neuna's side said, "It's nice to meet you Mr. Attis. I'm Noel, the soon-to-be successor of the Blue Pearl."

Past Attis raised an eyebrow and said, "Noel? So you're Caren's older twin sister huh?"

Noel got excited by hearing Caren's name and said with excitement, "You know my sister Caren?! What's she like? Do we really look the same? How about-?"

"Now Noel, you can ask Attis questions like that later. I'm sure that he's exhausted from his trip from…" Neuna told Noel, trailing off when she realized that she didn't know which kingdom he traveled from.

"Actually," Past Attis intervened, "I came here from the Antarctic Palace, and Carisa says hello too Neuna."

Neuna and the other mermaids look a bit surprised by that as Neuna said, "Wow, you traveled that far by swimming Attis?"

"Well, I did use a bit of magic to speed things along." Past Attis told them, "I gotta admit though, I do feel a bit tired after the trip though…"

"Well now, I guess we'll have to fix that won't we?" Neuna said with a smile. For some reason Attis couldn't help but feel a slight shiver down his spine, and his past self seemed to feel that as well as he replied, "Uh sure, why not?"

Neuna gave a nod and said, "Well, please follow me; I'll lead you to your room personally."

Past Attis gave a nod and he followed Neuna along with the other mermaids, though Noel was looking at Past Attis with quite the expectant face. As Attis floated along couldn't help but think, 'Looks like Noel really loves Caren. Can't say I'm surprised though, but at least I know what Noel looks like now.'

* * *

A few days later, Attis was watching his past self tell Noel all about his experiences back at the Antarctic Palace, though he noticed that Past Attis omitted a few things for good reason. Noel commented, "Wow, my little sister sounds so energetic. Oh how I wish I could meet her…"

"You'd love to meet Caren, am I right?" Past Attis said with a soft grin. Noel nodded energetically as she clapped her hands together and said, "Yes I really do, and thanks to you Mr. Attis, I feel like I know a bit more about her now."

Past Attis had an odd look on his face, and Attis kind of wondered about that when he heard himself say, "Hey why don't I show you a few interesting things?"

When Noel agreed to that, Attis watched his past self show Solaris and Lunaria to her and also told the future Blue Pearl Mermaid Princess the same stories that he told Caren, but half of them were different then the ones that he told Caren. As he watched, Attis thought, 'Man, from this perspective, it looks like I was trying to win the twins over or something. Still, this doesn't really answer why Caren seems to like me better than Lucia, Hanon, and especially Rina.'

Attis took one look at Noel's interested face and thought, 'Man, now that I think about it, Noel and Caren do look sort of alike. They even have a mole under their eye; one under the left for Caren, and one under the right for Noel.'

* * *

_North Pacific Palace – battlefield_

After Attis had watched how his stay was at the Arctic Palace, the scene shifted and he now saw that he was in front of what he recognized as the North Pacific Palace. It was protected by a golden barrier that reminded Attis of the bubble the Black Beauty Sisters used to hold Caren captive.

That's when he heard an explosion and Attis turned to see his past self fighting with an army of mermaids against water demons and Heartless. Past Attis had just used an Ultima spell that destroyed a number of Neoshadows that looked a bit mutated to handle underwater combat. Attis thought to himself, 'Man, I sure miss the Flare and Ultima spells.'

Attis watched as he and the mermaid army forced the water demons and Heartless back while the Mermaid Princesses were singing in support. When the Heartless were defeated, since they were left behind to be a distraction while the remaining water demons escaped, the mermaid army gathered together, while Past Attis slowly floated back after defeating the last Neoshadow.

When Past Attis reached the seven Mermaid Princesses who turned back into their mermaid forms, Attis got a good look at the other Mermaid Princesses as Past Attis said, "Well, that takes care of that. Your kingdom's safe now Lynaia."

"Yes, though I admit that I was quite surprised to see that you suddenly popped out of nowhere with the Mermaid army Attis." Lynaia, the Pink Pearl Mermaid Princess said. Looking at her, she had long blond hair that went down in waves, and she had pink highlights in her hair as well. Her eyes were a bright brown Attis noticed, as Lynaia said, "Well, I better get back to the kingdom. Everyone's worried, so I need to go and assure them that everything's fine now."

"Okay, see you later Lynaia." The Aqua Mermaid Princess replied. Lynaia nodded and swam off, leaving the other mermaids. Then the Green Mermaid Princess said, "She looks stressed out Hiraine."

"It's no surprise Raina, the rogue water demon's base is closest to the North Pacific Palace, though this is the first time that they've tried something this huge. It must be because of the Heartless…" Hiraine, the Aqua Pearl Mermaid Princess said.

Taking a closer look at Hiraine, Attis saw that her hair was straight, compared to Hanon's wavy hair. She also had a pair of side-tails that were held by blue shell clips giving her hair a unique look, as her hair color was the same as Hanon's but a bit lighter. Her eyes were a darker shade of blue than Hanon's, making them look similar to Neuna's, but only by a little, which contrasted with her hair by the way.

Then Attis turned to Raina, and her hair was only shoulder length, but it was the same shade of green as Rina's. Her eyes regular green, and Attis noticed that her earrings were spiral shells, compared to the other Mermaid Princesses' long, bivalve shell earrings. That's when the Past Attis said, "Um Neuna, Carisa, could I talk to the two of you for a minute."

"Sure Attis," Neuna replied, "Hiraine, Raina, could you two go get Coco and Sara for us and tell them to go to the North Pacific Palace ahead of us?"

Hiraine and Raina nodded before they headed off towards Coco and Sara, who were chatting with each other not far from them. Past Attis sighed and said, "Coco, the Yellow Pearl Mermaid Princess, and Sara, the Orange Pearl Mermaid Princess. I hope that those two are alright…"

"Don't worry about them. Despite their young ages, they're strong since they're Mermaid Princesses." Carisa assured him, "Anyway, what is it that you want to talk about?"

Meanwhile, Attis thought to himself, 'So the last two Mermaid Princesses are Coco and Sara…strange, it was like their names were clouded despite me seeing them before in a dream.' He looked up and heard Past Attis say, "It's about Noel and Caren."

Carisa and Neuna looked confused for a second, then their expressions changed when Past Attis said, "I want those two to meet each other."

Both Mermaid Princesses looked at each other for a second before Carisa said, "The two of us talked about this once before, and actually, we'd like that too. It's just that those two aren't allowed out of their respective palaces because they're the successors to our pearls chosen by Aqua Regina-sama."

"Oh, I'm sure Aqua Regina would agree to this too," Past Attis said with confidence. "I mean, even she's bound to have heard Noel and Caren's wishes, right?"

Attis found this situation quite interesting as Carisa and Neuna looked at each other before Neuna said, "…What's your plan Attis?"

"Neuna!" Carisa shouted, but Neuna raised her hand and said, "We, as Mermaid Princesses, aren't able to let them meet, but if it's Attis, then it's more than possible."

Carisa was about to argue, but then she saw the pleading look in Neuna's eyes, and said, "…Fine Neuna, I'll go along with this. So, what is your plan Attis?"

Attis watched as his past self explained the plan to the two and thought, 'Hmm, I know why I would go that far for those two. I guess it comes with being an orphan with no blood siblings for most of your life…'

* * *

_Underwater - Antarctic Palace_

The scene shifted again, and Attis found himself back at the entrance of the Antarctic Palace. Suddenly, his past self appeared via a Teleport spell and he quickly made his way through the palace, with Attis following after him.

After a bit of traveling, Past Attis went through a door with Attis following after him. Inside, they found Caren floating around by herself, as if she was waiting for someone. When Past Attis walked up to her, Caren turned around and said, "Oh, there you are human. Carisa-sama said that you wanted to speak to me."

"I'll get straight to the point." Past Attis said in a hurry, "You want to meet your sister right?"

"Of course! I already told you this." Caren replied, a bit annoyed that she thought that she was called just to talk about that. Past Attis then said, "Well, what would you say if I was able to help you meet her?"

Caren's eyes widened at that but then she turned around and said, "Why should I trust someone like you? Even Carisa-sama said that she and Neuna-sama weren't allowed to let us meet."

Past Attis got a bit impatient and said, "Here, then let me promise you this." He grabbed Caren's hand and knelt down, surprising Caren and Attis as he said, "I promise to you, the future Purple Pearl Mermaid Princess Caren, that I'll personally help you meet your twin sister Noel."

Caren was taken aback by that and she got a bit flustered as Past Attis let go of her hand. She then said, "Well, if you say it like that, then I have to ask: how are you going to go about it?'

A smile formed on Past Attis' face as he said, "Here, like this." He took Caren's hand again and thought of the Arctic Palace as he said, "Teleport!" With that both Past Attis and Caren vanished in a flash of light that also blinded Attis, though out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw the door open a bit.

* * *

_Underwater – Arctic Palace_

When the light died, Attis found himself, his past self, and Caren floating outside the front of the Arctic Palace. Caren asked, "Where are we human?"

"We're outside the Arctic Palace." Past Attis said simply. Caren's eyes widened at that as her thoughts started to run a bit wild. That's when Past Attis took out a blindfold and put it over Caren's eyes, making her say, "Hey, what's the big idea?"

"Just making sure it stays as a surprise for the both of you." Past Attis simply replied. Then he summoned Lunaria and made Caren hold it saying, "Hold onto this, it'll keep you invisible and safe until I get back with Noel."

Caren was about to say something, but thoughts about finally meeting her sister overwhelmed her, and all she could do was nod. As Past Attis teleported to the inside of the Arctic Palace with Attis following, he thought, 'Ha ha ha, this feels like I in a high stage kidnapping or something…'

Inside the Arctic Palace, Past Attis went through the same procedure as he did in the Antarctic Palace. When they reached a certain pair of doors, Past Attis opened them and they found Noel waiting inside, in the exact same manner as Caren was. When they went up to her, Noel said, "Attis, there you are! Neuna-sama said that you wanted to talk to me."

Apparently, Past Attis was hoping that Noel would be a bit more cooperative than her sister as he said, "Yes, I did. Actually it's about your sister Caren…"

"So you're actually going to help us meet each other?!" Noel asked excitedly. Past and Present Attis were taken aback by that as Past Attis said, "You know?!"

Noel nodded and said, "Neuna-sama told me everything Attis! Oh I can't believe that I'm finally going to meet my little sister!"

Attis and his past self could see the excitement coming out of Noel and Past Attis just sighed and said, "Okay, but for me to pull this off, I need to do a few things first." Noel gave a nod and then she found herself blindfolded, which made her ask, "Um, is this necessary Attis?"

"Yup, helps keep the excitement." Past Attis replied. Attis himself couldn't help but give a small laugh at that as Past Attis teleported himself and Noel out of the room, with Attis following, back to where Caren was being held.

When they appeared, Lunaria vanished from Caren's hands as Past Attis grabbed Caren's hand. Before she could say anything he shouted, "Teleport!" and the three of them vanished in a flash of light, and again it blinded Attis.

* * *

_Underwater – somewhere off Hawaii's shore_

Attis, his past self, and the twins found themselves in another part of the ocean, and Attis heard his past self mutter, "I hope that we're near Hawaii…"

That' when Caren shouted, "Hey human, what's the heck was that all about?!"

Noel stiffened at Caren's voice, then asked, "Attis, is that w-who I think it is?"

Caren reacted the same way as Noel when she heard her voice. Past Attis just sighed and said, "Ha, okay you two, I'm going to take off your blindfolds now, so don't move."

The first thing that Past Attis did first however, was position Noel and Caren in front of each other so the first thing they would see would be each other. Then he untied the blindfolds from both of them and moved back a bit to give the two some space. Attis decided to stay where he was since it was his memory and all.

When Noel and Caren opened their eyes, the first thing they felt was an instant connection between themselves when their eyes met. Things were silent for a bit until Caren stuttered, "N-Noel…?"

Noel smiled and said, "Caren…my little sister…" Then the two mermaids swam over and hugged each other happily as Caren said, "Onee-chan, you're here! You're actually here! I just can't believe it! Oh, how I wanted to see you so much!"

"I know, and it's thanks to Attis that I'm finally able to meet you too!" Noel said with a smile.

After a few minutes of talking had past, Noel turned to Past Attis, while Caren was still in her arms and asked, "So, what are we going to do now Attis?"

Past Attis gave a tired sigh, and Attis knew the reason. Teleporting long distances really drained the caster's energy, and even more if there was more than one person with them. That's when Past Attis replied, "Well, first off, we'll head to the surface first, then-,"

"Wait a minute, we're supposed to go the human world?" Caren interrupted, wiggling free out of Noel's arms, "Why should we?"

"Because, if we don't, then I'll have to send the two of you back to Neuna and Carisa. Right now in fact." Past Attis replied in a matter-of-fact fashion, "It was their request actually, to bring the two of you to the surface so the both of you can learn about human culture."

Caren didn't like what she had just heard, while Noel asked, "Okay, so where do we go?"

"Onee-chan!" Caren shouted. Noel turned to Caren and smiled saying, "It'll be fun Caren! Just think about it; our very first adventure together!"

Seeing the excited look on Noel's face, Caren just couldn't argue with her and said, "Ha, you make it sound so much fun Onee-chan."

"I knew you'd see it my way Caren!" Noel said happily. That's when Past Attis said, "Okay you two, we'd better get going now, or else a diver might see us." With that, Past Attis swam off with Noel and Caren behind him, as well as Attis at the back.

* * *

_Hawaii - beachside_

When they got to shore, Past Attis was the first one to get out and he took off the black cloak he was wearing. Then he threw it to Noel and Caren before they got out of the water saying, "When the two of you transform into your human forms, wrap this cloak around yourselves."

Noel and Caren were confused for a bit, but understood when they got out of the water and transformed. Seeing that they weren't wearing anything, something that made Attis quickly turn around, the twins quickly put the cloak around themselves.

Meanwhile, Past Attis was looking around until he saw a shack not far away. Attis heard his past self mumble, "That will have to do…" before saying, "Okay, this way girls."

Attis watched as the twins had trouble walking at first, and the long black cloak didn't help them, but they got used to it pretty quickly, and eventually they found themselves standing in front of the shack with Past Attis materializing two packages wrapped in a blue and purple ribbon. He handed them to the twins saying, "Okay, the two of you can put on the clothes in these packages."

Caren looked a bit skeptical, but Noel assured her, "Don't worry Caren, Neuna-sama taught me how to put on human clothes, so it should be alright."

A nod came from Caren as the two of them walked inside and shut the door. Attis thought to himself, 'Ha, the mini dimensional pockets sure are useful. They may only be able to carry only five items, unlike the ones Moogles use, but they're still useful nonetheless.'

A few minutes later, Noel and Caren came out with the clothes Past Attis gave them on. Looking at them, Attis saw that Caren was wearing a long t-shirt that went down to her knees and it said on front, 'I'm a rebel!' She had a pair of jeans underneath as well as sandals that had a purple stud in the middle of their straps.

As for Noel, she had the same t-shirt as Caren, but hers said, 'My sister's a rebel!' The same can be said for her jeans and sandals, but her studs were blue in color. Attis couldn't help but laugh at the t-shirts and even Past Attis had a smile on his face as Caren asked, "What's with these shirts hu-, I mean, Attis?"

"What, I thought those would look cute on you." Past Attis said innocently, "Come on, we need to check into the hotel we're staying at."

* * *

_Hawaii – hotel_

At one of the hotels, Attis saw his past self and the twins standing near the front desk as Past Attis said, "Okay, for now, just let me do all the talking alright?"

The twins nodded and the three of them went up to the front desk. The receptionist said, "Oh hello, how may I help you?"

"Yes, do you have any rooms with two beds free right now?" Attis asked. The receptionist looked over something before replying, "Yes we do. Would you like to check in right now sir?"

Past Attis nodded and said, "I would appreciate it sir." A nod came from the receptionist and said, "So one room with two beds and a bathroom for you and your…daughters, correct?"

Both Noel and Caren's eyes widened at that, while Past Attis corrected, "Actually, they're my little sisters. We're here on vacation."

"Oh, I see, my apologies." The receptionist said. Then said person handed Attis a key and said, "The room's 508, and have a pleasant stay."

"Thank you." Past Attis said with a nod. When the three of them walk away, Attis heard Noel say, "Why did you lie to that person Attis?"

"I didn't have much of a choice." Past Attis replied, "I couldn't just say that two mermaids were staying with me, now could I?"

"I see…" Noel said, "Then that means that we should be calling Onii-chan, right?"

"Eh?" Past Attis said, a bit confused. Noel turned to Caren and said, "Come on Caren, why don't you try saying it?"

"What? No way!" Caren said. However, Noel was looking at her with puppy dog eyes and eventually, Caren gave in saying, "Um, O-Onii-chan…"

Attis couldn't help but think, 'Noel sure knows how to get Caren to do what she wants, doesn't she?'

* * *

_Hawaii – beachside_

The days passed as Attis watched the events that happened between his past self and the twins. He saw himself go to parks, eat out at restaurants, where Caren found human made food really delicious, and go to the beaches a number of times, as well as explore the Hawaiian islands, not to mention take a few pictures together.

About four days after arriving, Attis saw himself watching Noel and Caren play in the sand when he heard someone shout, "So this is where you've been Attis!"

Both Past and Present Attis turned around to see a girl with shoulder length yellow hair and matching eyes standing on the sidewalk behind them. She was wearing a cream colored tank top and jean shorts, with a pair of sandals. Attis heard his past self say, "Oh, Coco…"

'She's one of the Mermaid Princesses…' Attis thought to himself, recognizing her from one of his earlier flashbacks, though her human form changed her looks quite a bit. Coco marched up to past Attis saying, "I've been looking everywhere for you! Do you know what the word is going around the mermaid kingdoms? It's that you've kidnapped the soon-to-be successors to the Blue and Purple Pearls…"

Coco trailed off when she saw Noel and Caren walk up to them with Noel saying, "Um, Onii-chan, who's she?"

That's when Coco went off saying, "So it is true, you kidnapped the two mermaid successors! Oh what are we going to do?! If word gets out, the mermaids are going to start screaming for your execution, and not even Aqua Regina-sama would be able to stop it!"

Past Attis tried to calm her down, until Caren asked, "Who's this weirdo?"

That made Coco stop and said, "I'm no weirdo miss successor! I'm Coco, the Yellow Pearl Mermaid Princess of the South Pacific Ocean!"

Noel and Caren were surprised at that as Noel said, "Wow, I've never met another Mermaid Princess aside from Neuna-sama!"

"Same here, the only Mermaid Princess I know is Carisa-sama…but, is she really a Mermaid Princess? She looks around our age…" Caren said.

Coco got annoyed at that and she said, "Here, I can prove to the both of you that I'm really the South Pacific Mermaid Princess." Then Coco took the shell necklace that was around her neck and opened it, showing Noel and Caren the Yellow Pearl. Noel and Caren were convinced as Noel said, "Wow, so you really are a Mermaid Princess!"

"You got it!" Coco said proudly. Then she turned to Past Attis and asked, "So, what's really going on Attis? The mermaids are saying that you're a traitor and that you're on the side of the water demons!"

Attis couldn't help but let his jaw drop as his past self said smugly, "Wow, things sure got crazy after a few days, didn't they?"

"Argh, stop joking around Attis! This is serious!" Coco shouted. Past Attis calmed her down by assuring her, "We're going to be here for three more days, and that's when they're going to go back. To let you in on it, both Neuna and Carisa agreed to it, so I technically didn't kidnap them."

Coco looked at Past Attis as if he grew a second head. Then she sighed saying, "Well, at least that explains why Neuna and Carisa haven't made much of a fuss about it…"

Noel and Caren looked at each other for a moment, before they went back to what they were doing before. Watching the two of them play in the sand, Coco said, "Hey Attis, can I ask you something?"

"What is it?" Past Attis asked. Coco replied, "Um, do you mind if I join the three of you?"

That made both Past and Present Attis curious as Past Attis said, "Hmm, I guess so…but why? Is the workload getting to you?"

"Not really…Sara's been so busy that I haven't seen her in a while, and things get so boring back at the palace…" Coco said tiredly. Past Attis sighed and said, "Well, since you found us, might as well stay for the rest of the three days, on the pretense of watching over us of course."

Coco smiled at that and said, "Thank you very much Attis."

* * *

_Underwater – off Hawaii's shore_

With Coco joining them, the last three days of the 'vacation' were much more eventful. Coco became friends with Noel and Caren, and most of the days were spent with the three of them hang out together. They did things like trade stories about their kingdoms and go on shopping trips led by Coco. There was also one event that Attis watched, where the three of them tried to prank his past self, where it resulted him wearing nothing but a towel after going to the hotel's built-in hot spring. Attis saw his past self running around for a bit until he realized that he could have just materialized his black cloak.

Now Attis saw his past self and the three mermaids together and both Noel and Caren had anxious looks on their faces, and Attis had an idea what was going on. It was the day Noel and Caren would be sent back to their kingdoms, and even though they were happy to be going home, it was outweighed by the fact that the two were going their separate ways. Coco tried to lighten the mood by saying, "Don't worry you two. Once you become Mermaid Princesses, the two of you can visit each other, on 'official business', as how you can call it."

"I bet you and Sara use that to see each other, right?" Past Attis said with a smug look on his face. Coco just looked away from him and said, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Sure, sure." Past Attis said casually. Then he went over to Noel and Caren saying, "Okay girls, time to go-."

Suddenly, Caren latched onto Noel shouting, "No, I don't want to go back now. I don't want to be separated from Onee-chan again!"

Noel put her arms around Caren, and what Attis and his past self saw was that even though Noel didn't say anything, she felt the same way that Caren did, and it was pretty understandable. Past Attis tried to assure them, "It's going to be alright girls, you'll see each other again. It's not like-."

All of a sudden, a whole group of Heartless appeared, consisting of aquatic Neoshadows and Darkballs. Coco swam over to Noel and Caren as they held each other in fear, while Past Attis spat, "Heartless? How the heck…?"

"What's going on Attis?! How did the Heartless know we were here?!" Coco shouted, while keeping an eye on the twins.

"Just form a barrier Coco!" Past Attis shouted as he summoned Solaris and Lunaria. Coco did just that and formed a barrier with the power of her pearl to protect herself, Noel, and Caren.

Coco was lucky to do so, as some of the Neoshadows charged right at them with their claws raised at them when they saw her trying to form a barrier. Noel and Caren screamed as the barrier came up in time, repelling the Neoshadows. Attis watched himself go after them and sliced the Neoshadows apart, then blocked an attack from a Darkball. Past Attis shouted, "Don't worry, everything will be fine girls!"

As Past Attis fought the Heartless, Noel and Caren watched while Coco kept up the barrier. They were surprised by his fighting skill, even though they heard a bit about him from Neuna and Carisa respectively. But seeing him fight the Heartless showed them how tough Attis really was, and that his stories were not just for show.

When the Heartless were defeated, Coco let down the barrier and Past Attis turned to them asking, "You girls alright?"

Noel and Caren nodded, and that's when Attis saw a Neoshadow form and dive straight for Caren, making Past Attis dive to her, making his Keyblades vanish in the process, shouting, "Caren!"

When Caren turned and saw the Neoshadow heading straight for her, she froze in fear while Noel shouted, "Caren, watch out!"

Past Attis managed to reach Caren and get her out of the way, holding her protectively in the process. The Neoshadow couldn't get her, but it did give Past Attis a nasty slash across the back, making him cry out in pain. The three mermaids saw it as Past Attis held Caren with one arm while summoning Lunaria and throwing it at the Neoshadow in reaction, and the Keyblade sliced the Neoshadow across the torso, destroying it.

When Lunaria reappeared in Past Attis' hand, he let go of Caren as he winced and said, "Are you alright Caren?"

Caren had a light blush on her face, but it disappeared as she said, "I should say the same to you Onii-chan! Blood's coming out of your back!"

"Oh, I can just take care of that. Cura." Holding up Lunaria, the Cura spell healed the wound as Past Attis said, "We'd better get out of here first. I'll use a Teleport spell, so everyone hold on."

The three mermaids grabbed onto Past Attis as he held up Lunaria casting the Teleport spell, and the four vanished in a flash of light with Attis following.

* * *

_Underwater – outside the South Pacific Palace_

The group ended up on the outskirts of the South Pacific Palace and Coco said, "Why did you teleport here Attis?"

The three mermaids let go of Past Attis as he replied, "I dunno, it just came to mind I guess." Coco just shook her head as Caren got his attention and said, "Um, thank you very much for saving me Onii-chan…"

"It's nothing Caren, and both you and Noel don't have to call me 'Onii-chan' anymore. Just Attis will do." Past Attis told her. Both Noel and Caren nodded as Past Attis asked, "So, are the two of you ready to head home now?"

The twins nodded, but not before Noel and Caren looked at each other before pulling out a small pouch each that were tied under their hair. Attis and his past self raised their eyebrows as they took out small crystal orbs with a chain attached. Noel's had a blue colored pearl inside it's orb and it's chain was the same color, while Caren's had a purple colored pearl inside and it's chain was the same color too.

Attis found that they looked like Keychains when Noel said, "Here Attis, these are for you. These are our most precious items to us, since we had them ever since we were very young. I was going to give mine to Caren, and vice versa, but we decided to give them to you, since you're the reason we were able to meet."

Caren nodded in agreement, and Past Attis took the crystal orb charms saying, "Thank you very much girls. I'll be sure to treasure these always."

Attis found the situation very touching, when a voice said, "Okay, that's enough trips down memory lane." Suddenly everything around Attis went dark and he felt as if he was sinking into the darkness.

* * *

_Dreamstate – Awakening_

A moment later, Attis found himself lying on the ground and he picked himself up. Looking around, he recognized the place as the Awakening, but he didn't know it was called that. When he looked down at the pillar however, he was surprised to see himself in the stain glass picture instead of Aqua Regina.

Inspecting the picture, Attis saw that he was in some sort of sitting position sleeping while holding the Castle Key in one hand. Then in one corner there were ten circles in a hexagon-like shape, with seven circles having faces on them. He saw Karen, Halit, Salic, and Aluraine's faces on there, as well as three other female faces that he somehow recognized. However, there were three other circles at the end that were blank for some reason, and he wondered what that was when a voice said, "Finding your circle of friends interesting?"

Attis looked up and saw two girls standing before him. From what he could tell, they were twins, and had long, waist-length, light brown hair and slightly pale skin. Their eyes were different however, with the one on his left having pale blue eyes, while the one on his right had pale red eyes. Both of them were wearing the same clothes, long black and white dresses with corsets that were Gothic-Lolita fashion, with their open over coats the same color as their eyes. The last thing Attis noticed was that the girl with pale blue eyes had a big crescent moon clip at a slant to her right in her hair, while the other girl with pale red eyes had a sun shaped clip in her hair too, slanting to her left.

As Attis stared at him, the girl with the pale blue eyes said, "I think Attis is shocked to see us sister."

"Who can blame him?" The girl with the pale red eyes said while flipping her hair, "He has two gorgeous girls standing in front of him. It's not surprising that he would stare."

Raising an eyebrow, Attis looked at them when a memory came back to him. He slightly nodded saying, "You two, are Solaris and Lunaria, right?"

The girl with the sun clip, Solaris, clapped her hands and said, "Bingo! So you do remember now!"

Lunaria, the girl with the crescent moon clip, smiled and said, "Well, at least breaking that accursed seal made him remember who we are."

"Seal?" Attis asked, his mind going back to that black lock and chains over the white door. Solaris just shrugged and said, "Never mind that, it's old news now. Anyway, you remember that other thing, right Attis?"

Attis nodded and said, "Yeah, I remember everything now Sola, Luna."

A clap came from Solaris as she said, "Good, good, there's another thing cleared!"

Lunaria nodded and said, "But sis, Attis isn't the same as he was before, thanks to what had happened to him during that time. So we don't have a choice but to do _that_ again…"

A ticked off look appeared on Solaris' face and she said, "You can't be serious Luna, can't he already wield us?"

"Well, the only reason we were able to help him was because of circumstances, even with that seal in place." Lunaria explained.

Attis couldn't figure out what they were talking about, but one thing he did get was, "Girls, do I have to go through the Right of Wielding Test again?"

Solaris looked pretty pissed now as she replied, "According to Luna, we don't have much of a choice here… Man, what a pain…" She flipped her hair one more time and Attis saw that she was wearing the charm Noel gave him as an earring on her left ear, chain and all.

Lunaria put her hair behind her and Attis saw her wearing Caren's charm on her right ear as she said, "Let's go Sola. On the bright side, you get another shot at Attis."

That seemed to put a smile on Solaris' face as she said, "Well, since you put it that way…" The two girls got into fighting positions as their Keyblade forms appeared in their hands, with their original Keychains; small interlocking hoops for chains ending with a red sun for Solaris and a blue crescent moon for Lunaria. Attis noticed them and asked, "What's with those Keychains?"

"These are our original Keychains Attis." Lunaria explained, "Thanks to those charms you attached to us, we were able to reform our original Keychains at the same time. Just for the record, our original Keychains were destroyed back during the Keyblade War."

"I see…" Attis said, as he held out his hand and summoned his Keyblade, the Castle Key. Holding it in his hands, Attis said, "So, no offensive magic, right girls?"

"That's right, and we won't give you the chance to use restorative magic either!" Solaris shouted as she charged forward. Attis prepared himself and blocked Solaris' initial strike, and he pushed her back.

Attis didn't have any time to attack as Lunaria went on the offensive and the two did a bit of swordplay. When they were in a deadlock, Attis had to kick Solaris in the stomach to send her flying back when she had raised her Keyblade to strike Attis down.

Sending Solaris flying distracted Lunaria and Attis took advantage of that to knock Lunaria's Keyblade out of her hands and send it spinning towards the edge of the platform where it stopped. That's when Solaris came running with a scream and Attis had to shift his attention to her while Lunaria tried to summon her Keyblade back.

Attis managed to fend off Solaris' vicious attacks, but that left him open as Lunaria swung her Keyblade to Attis' side, making him skid sideways as he held the hit area. Solaris instantly went after him and kept on attacking. Somehow, Attis broke through Solaris' attacks and landed a combo on her which sent her back.

Both Solaris and Lunaria looked at each other before both of them charged forward and with Keyblades raised, they brought them down upon Attis, who blocked their attack with the Castle Key, ending up in a three-way deadlock. Attis found the pressure from the both of them stronger then he thought and he held his Keyblade with two hands as they forced him down on one knee.

The pressure was making Attis consider him giving in until he remembered something that Halit had told him in the past during his training, "Come on Atty, just because you're out numbered doesn't mean you can't win!"

"Strange for something like Halit's advice to pop out now…" Attis mused. Finding the strength to get up, he started pushing the girls back, much to their surprise. Suddenly he shouted, "Sorry girls, but this ends now!"

"Eh?" Solaris and Lunaria said, puzzled. That's when Attis suddenly pushed his Keyblade upwards hard, making the girls lose their grip on their Keyblades and they flew into the air. Attis jumped up after them and grabbed the two as the Castle Key vanished from sight.

Landing in front of them, Solaris and Lunaria gulped and they braced themselves as Attis did a double Strike Raid at the two girls, flinging their respective Keyblades at them. The two of them were hit head on and were sent flying backwards. Attis watched as the two of them felt to the floor in a crumpled heap and they didn't move a bit afterwards.

Waiting there, Attis got concerned when he heard Solaris moan, "Oh man, not again…this is even worse than the first time…"

Attis saw Solaris and Lunaria get up with a groan as Lunaria said, "Well, at least he's gotten better, or else I would've been worried…"

"I take it I pass?" Attis asked in amusement. Solaris stood up in a huff saying, "Grr… Fine, you pass, whatever. Makes me wonder why we even bothered with this stupid test…"

Lunaria was standing as she dusted herself off saying, "Well, it couldn't be helped sis. It's more of a formality thing, and Attis wasn't as strong as he was when we first fought him." Solaris gave a sigh and said, "Are you saying that we took it easy on him?"

"It's either that or we really have been rusty." Lunaria replied. Attis couldn't help but crack a smile and said, "So what happens now?"

Solaris and Lunaria started to disappear in sparkles of light as they both said, "Why don't you figure it out Attis?" At the same time, light started to form around Attis' hands and then just as the two girls completely vanished, the Keyblades Solaris and Lunaria reappeared in his hands, this time with the crystal pearl charm Keychains that Noel and Caren gave him were attached to them.

That's when Solaris' voice said, "No, don't you forget us again, alright?"

Lunaria's voice added, "You know, you should wake up now. Being in a coma can do really bad things to your health."

Attis was puzzled at that as a bright light started to flash before his eyes, blinding him and it made him think, 'Oh man, this is starting to get old!'

* * *

_Gaito's castle – unknown room_

Attis woke up, finding himself in a golden bubble in the middle of a dark room. He got up and took a look at himself, surprised to see that the black cloak that he wore was somehow repaired from the damage that he took from the first Reaper Scythe. Shaking his head, he touched the bubble as he looked around saying, "Where the heck am I?"

Pounding at the bubble to see how strong it is, Attis summoned Solaris and Lunaria saying, "Time to bust out of this joint!"

With a double slash, Attis somehow managed to destroy the bubble imprisoning him and he landed on the floor quite nicely. Suddenly, a few Heartless popped up in response, consisting of Defenders and Soldiers. Attis gave a grin as he held Solaris and Lunaria in a fighting position and said, "I guess you'll be the ones to give me a warm up!"

* * *

_Gaito's castle – ballroom hall_

Around the same time, Lucia, Hanon, and Rina managed to infiltrate the place, though Rina accidentally left Lucia and Hanon behind when she was too focused on rescuing Noel, Caren, and Attis. She had Aqualis in her hands, ready if any Heartless were to pop out right at her.

When Rina reached the ballroom hall, she found both Caren and Noel there, as well as Gaito, who was dancing with Noel. Rina was surprised by the whole scene as she called out to them, "Noel, Caren!"

Noel looked up and said happily, "Oh my, Rina! Why don't you come down to join and dance with us?"

Rina was a bit surprised by that, but she made her way down to the dance floor as she noticed that Attis wasn't with them and thought, 'I don't see him anywhere…unless…' She shook off the thought as Caren went over to dance with Gaito too saying, "Rina, I don't hate you anymore. Rather, I really want to thank you. This place is just so wonderful!"

When Rina reached the dance floor, Noel clapped her hands together and said, "Yes, you must have misunderstood the situation, Rina. Thanks to you, I was able to find that out. Thank you so very much."

A look of shock appeared on Rina's face, but it quickly turned to anger as she shouted, "Gaito! What have you done to them?! Turn Noel and Caren back to normal! Also, where's Attis? He should be here somewhere, right?"

Caren stopped dancing as she put on a mournful face and said, "I'm sorry Rina, but Attis didn't make it from his wounds. Gaito-sama tried his best to help him, but in the end…"

"N-no…" Rina stuttered, unable to believe it. That's when Noel and Caren took turns dancing with Gaito as Noel said, "Gaito-sama, Rina's a good girl. She's been fighting for us."

"I'm sorry Rina. I misunderstood the type of person you were." Caren said.

"Who would have thought that Rina would love us so much?" Noel then said.

"Hey, why don't you dance with her too, Gaito-sama? I'm sure it will help ease her over the loss of the Keyblade wielder." Caren said to Gaito.

Rina was pretty much scared that she dropped Aqualis, making the Keyblade clatter on the ground. Gaito's gaze was starting to affect her and she fell into a trance, with her hand slowly reaching over to Gaito's. Suddenly, she heard Aqua Regina's voice say to her, "Open your eyes, Green Pearl Mermaid Princess Rina!"

That snapped Rina out of it as she thought, "Aqua Regina-sama?!" All of a sudden, Aqua Regina's light filled the hall and it dissipated the illusion of the dress that Rina wore as well as the illusion of Gaito. Turning around, Rina saw Lucia, Hanon, and Aqua Regina standing nearby and called out to them in surprise.

At the same time, the light was blinding Noel and Caren, making them cover their eyes as Caren struggled to say, "This light…" while Noel said, "I-I can't move…"

That concerned Rina and she called out to them, "Noel, Caren, what's wrong?!"

Around the same time, Attis had just arrived at the same entrance as the one Rina came through, but he hid himself as he listened to the story where Noel sacrificed herself to save Rina, and that caused a misunderstanding with Caren. He thought, 'Maybe this is the reason that she has those looks of regret back then…'

Attis then heard, "Lucia, Hanon…I'm sorry that I stayed silent about Noel. I thought I'd be able to tell the both of you, even Attis, but…but now…"

"Rina, one's true feelings can't always be expressed in words, right?" Lucia said, "But you know, they are understandable even if you stay silent. That's what friendship really is!"

Attis couldn't help but smirk as Hanon agreed with Lucia, while Rina said, "Lucia…Hanon…but Attis, he's gone…"

"No Rina, Attis is still alive." Aqua Regina said, "I can still feel his presence in this world, thanks to his bond with the Red Pearl." Rina remembered that she had dropped Aqualis and went over to pick it up as Aqua Regina's light revealed Caren and Noel to actually be Sheshe and Mimi in disguise. Sheshe shouted, "Damn you, Aqua Regina! Just a bit more and we would've…!"

"But Aqua Regina's light will dim soon!" Mimi assured her sister, "If we bear with it a little longer!"

Rina pointed Aqualis at the Black Beauty Sisters saying, "I'll never forgive the two of you, especially for that lie about Attis!"

The three Mermaid Princesses transformed as Aqua Regina said, "Pink Pearl, Aqua Pearl, and Green Pearl Mermaid Princesses…My current appearance is merely an illusion of my true self. I cannot stay here like this much longer. I will continue praying for you to combine the powers of the seven Mermaid Princesses and see me truly reawaken. Please do not forget. I am always at your side." Her form faded with her last words being, "Now, I shall grant you a new song…"

With Aqua Regina fading, and the three Princesses gaining bracelets of their colors, Sheshe said, "Now that Aqua Regina, that nuisance, has disappeared, we'll capture all of you." Mimi agreed adding, "How true…like this!"

That's when Caren still in the bubble floated down behind them, surprising the girls and making Attis' eyes narrow, while Rina called out to her, "Caren!"

Caren was a bit out of it until Rina called out to her, making her come to saying, "You guys…what are you doing here?! Hurry and get away from here!"

"Caren, there's no way we would just run away and leave you here!" Rina shouted to her. Caren tried to argue, "What are you saying? With your current powers, you won't be able to defeat them, and they took Attis away somewhere else…"

"We're fine now! Aqua Regina granted us a new song!" Lucia assured her. That's when Attis called out, "Hey, aren't you girls forgetting about someone?!"

They all looked up at the source, only to see Attis standing at the railing behind Caren and the Black Beauty Sisters. The four mermaids shouted, "Attis?!"

"That's my name, and it's not going to change." Attis said with a smirk. He jumped and landed right in front of the girls as Sheshe said, "You, how did you escape?!"

Attis looked right at Sheshe and Mimi and replied, "Did the two of you really think that bubble would've stopped me? Please…"

Rina went up to Attis with Aqualis in hand and said, "Here Attis…" Attis saw that the Purple Pearl was fused to it, and Attis shook his head saying, "Could you hold onto if for just a bit longer Rina?"

A puzzled look formed on Rina's face as Sheshe said, "I guess we'll have to deal with you first, Keyblade warrior Attis!" Sheshe snapped her fingers, and a Reaper Scythe appeared beside her. Caren got worried about that, but saw the smug look on Attis' face as he said, "I predict that this time around, things will happen a lot differently then the last time. Let me show you why!"

Attis held out his hands, and both Solaris and Lunaria appeared in his hands, shocking everyone. Then he looked at Caren and said, "Sorry I forgot everything Caren, but this time I remember everything, and these are proof of it." He held up Solaris and Lunaria and showed her the crystal pearl charms attached to them.

Caren understood and inside, she felt happy as Sheshe and Mimi pointed to him and said, "Destroy the Keyblade warrior!"

The Reaper Scythe moved forward, and the three Mermaid Princesses moved back as a barrier formed in front of them and the Black Beauty Sisters. The Heartless and Attis were inside as Attis brought his Keyblades to a fighting stance saying, "Time to show you what I'm really made out of!"

Attis made the first move and tried to attack, but the Reaper Scythe blocked it and threw him back. Then it tried to attack him and Attis parried the strike with Lunaria, while trying to strike back with Solaris, which managed to hit.

If Lucia, Hanon, and Rina were impressed back then at what happened at the North Pacific Palace with Mayluna, then this fight elevated their opinions. With Attis fighting with two Keyblades, they saw that his fighting style was completely different then when he fights with one, and it was surprising.

The fight between Attis and the Reaper Scythe went differently this time, with the playing field even, and Attis had his momentum rising. He felt so confident that he ran forward, and when the Heartless tried to swipe at him, he dodged it and dropped Solaris and Lunaria as he grabbed the staff of the scythe. The momentum from swinging it made him come around and he gave the Reaper Scythe a roundhouse kick to the head, making it stagger, as Attis flew off and summoned his Keyblades to his side.

'Ow, I'm not trying that again anytime soon…' Attis thought, as he was lucky that grabbing the staff of the scythe in mid-swing didn't twist or break his wrist. The Reaper Scythe didn't look too pleased to being kicked in the head. He looked to the side and saw the Black Beauty Sisters watching with confidence, as they thought that the Reaper Scythe would be able to put Attis back into critical condition again.

"Boy, are they going to be disappointed…" He muttered to himself. Attis then blocked another swipe that was aimed at his head and thought, 'These things like targeting my head, don't they?!'

Attis pushed the scythe away from him a certain way, which made the Reaper Scythe lose its grip on its weapon and the scythe flew away from it. Reacting to the sudden situation, Attis made a dash towards the defenseless Heartless and started attacking it with such fury, that it didn't have any chance to recover as Attis blew it into a wall with a hard blow.

When the Reaper Scythe recovered, it madly dashed over to where it's fallen scythe was, but Attis was ready, and he positioned Solaris and Lunaria together and held them with both hands as if they were one. The Reaper Scythe tried to get past him, but Attis slashed it right down the middle as he past it.

There was a moment of silence before Attis pointed Solaris at the Heartless and fired off a beam of light that tore right through it. Then the Reaper Scythe fell, and the heart it held captive rose into the air as its body crumbled into black mist before disappearing. As the barriers fell, Attis went over to where the scythe was and made Solaris disappear as he picked it up thinking, 'This might come in handy…'

As he stored it in his dimensional pocket, Sheshe and Mimi were fuming that Attis managed to defeat the Reaper Scythe and was in better condition then the last time. That's when Attis said, "Oh, and before I forget."

Pointing Lunaria towards Caren, a beam of light shot out of the Keyblade's tip and hit the bubble encasing Caren. It started to crack, making Mimi say, "Huh? What's going on?!"

Attis, meanwhile, had made Lunaria vanish and he ran over to where Caren was, just as the bubble shattered like glass, making her fall. Attis managed to catch her before she hit the ground and he kept going until he was at the side of the Mermaid Princesses.

Lucia, Hanon, and Rina looked relieved as Attis asked, "You alright Caren?"

"Yes, thank you Onii-chan." Caren replied in a low voice, so that the other three Princesses couldn't hear. Attis sighed and said, "I told you, you don't have to call me that anymore Caren."

Caren just shrugged as she held onto Attis, while he shouted, "Hey girls, weren't you going to teach these demons a lesson?"

"That's right! Let's do this Hanon, Rina!" Lucia shouted. Hanon and Rina nodded and they transformed into their super idol forms, surprising the others in the hall. Sheshe and Mimi looked at them in shock as Caren said, "That's…!"

Attis couldn't help but think, 'Man, that was flashy…' as Lucia, Hanon, and Rina shouted, "Pichi Pichi Voice Live Start!"

_Itai hodo namida afureru shinkai no yoru wo koe_

Their new song, Kizuna, had an immediate effect on the Black Beauty Sisters as Mimi covered her ears in pain shouting, "NO!! Why can we hear their song?!" Meanwhile Sheshe was in shock shouting, "Impossible! For their song to reach us…"

_Glass no suimen te wo nobaseba hikari ni todoita_

All of a sudden, the castle started shaking, making everyone look around in confusion as Attis asked, "The heck is going on?"

"I'm not sure…" Caren replied, also wondering what the heck was happening.

_Mieru mono dake ga kikoeru koe dake ga_

_ Subete ja nai koto ni kizuite_

That's when the space around the castle looked like it was distorting and Attis found it completely odd as he said, "Why is the space distorting…unless…"

"What?" Caren asked. Attis replied, "This castle must be some kind of illusion, and the song is so strong, that it's starting to affect it."

_Shinjirareru mono hitotsu fueta _

_ Ima nara tsuyoku nareru ne_

_ Kizutsuite mata kagayaku muteki no kizuna kanjiteru_

_ Dareka ja nakute kimi ja nakya dame_

_ Setsunai hodo motometeru_

Looking around, Attis and Caren could see that the entire space was twisting and turning, as if it was in pain, and Attis couldn't help but feel a bit dizzy at the entire scene. Even Caren had to close her eyes to avoid feeling sick.

_Kiseki ga kasanareba unmei ni kawaru mitai ni_

_ Utagai nante yaburi suteyou_

_ Katai kizuna wo shinjite_

With that, the entire illusion vanished, revealing that the entire illusion was supported by a Panterassa fish, this one of an angler fish variant. Attis took one look at it and couldn't help but say, "By Aqua Regina, that is one damn nasty fish!"

"Hey, you shouldn't say that Attis! Even if it is true…" Caren told him. That's when Lucia said their signature, "Love Shower Pitch!" which gave the Black Beauty Sisters one final hit. Then they asked, "How about an encore?"

The Black Beauty Sisters were defeated, and they hopped onto the Panterassa fish, which looked really drained by the way. Mimi shouted, "We'll remember this!" and Sheshe added, "Don't you think this is the end!"

"How cliché…" Attis commented as they watched the Panterassa fish swim away. Lucia, Hanon, and Rina were about to go over to Attis and Caren when they heard a clapping noise. They whipped around, only to find Mayluna clapping at them, with her hood still on. She smiled and said, "Bravo Mermaid Princesses. You managed to pull another trick out of your hairs, and that new song of yours is quite the improvement, I must say."

"What do you want Mayluna?" Attis said in an irritated voice. Caren was surprised by that and said, "Wait, she's Mayluna, the person you said that was nuttier than a fruitcake iced with peanut butter topped with cashews?"

"My, my, you shouldn't be telling people bad things about others." Mayluna scolded, "By the way, interesting girl you have in your arms Atty. I guess since you can't land a human girl, you decided to go after mermaids now? How bad can you get?"

Mayluna was starting to get under Attis' skin, especially after those last two sentences, as he said with a bit more force, "Do you have a reason to be here Mayluna? Or are you just here to be annoying?"

That's when Mayluna took off her hood and replied, "Oh, I guess you can go with the second option. Tehe!"

The four Mermaid Princesses took in Mayluna's features and they were shocked to see that Mayluna was totally different then they imagined her to be. Her hair was straight and black, with the edges cut straight. Her skin was slightly pale and her eyes were a bright yellow, something that reminded them of the Heartless. All in all, they found her looks to be best described as a Yamato Nadeshiko. Attis told them, "Don't let their looks fool you girls. She may look like the hottest beauty on the planet, but her mind's worse then a pretzel tied into five knots."

"Fu fu, I see my appearance has surprised the Mermaid Princesses. I bet they were expecting I look like something from out of the crack house." Mayluna mused. Then she said, "By the way, congrats on defeating my Reaper Scythes, they were quite the pain to make you know."

Everyone except Attis was shocked to hear that as Mayluna went on, "Well, I might as well be seeing you all later. Now that the Purple Pearl Mermaid Princess has revealed herself, I have all the Mermaid Princesses accounted for…"

"What was that?!" Attis shouted. Mayluna giggled and said, "Oops, shouldn't spoil the surprise so soon. I'll be going now!" Mayluna waved and vanished in a Corridor of Darkness before Attis could say anything. Everyone wondered what she meant by that as Caren asked, "Um, excuse me Attis, but could you put me down now?"

"Oh right, sorry." Attis replied, letting go of Caren. Lucia, Hanon, and Rina returned to their mermaid forms and swam over to Caren, nearly knocking Attis out of the way as Lucia asked, "Are you alright Caren?"

Caren replied, "Yeah, I'm alright." Rina brought up Aqualis, while Lucia said, "Here Caren, your pearl is in Aqualis, but we don't know how to get it out."

"Let me see…" Attis said. He took Aqualis and the Keyblade glowed for a second before vanishing, leaving behind the Red and Purple Pearls. Attis handed the Purple Pearl to Caren, who took it saying, "Thank you Attis."

As Attis put the Red Pearl back into its shell necklace, Rina said, "Caren, Attis, thank you for saving us back then."

Caren looked at her pearl before saying, "I'm not really sure why I did that at first…" As she put the Purple Pearl back in her necklace, she said, "When I saw Attis defending you three in his state back then, I couldn't help but feel the same way."

She looked down and said, "I'm sure Onee-chan would've done the same thing. I think I understand what she was feeling back then…" Then Caren looked at Rina and said, "Rina, when I said you betrayed my sister, I probably made a mistake on my part…"

Rina looked relieved that Caren understood as she said her name, then suddenly Lucia bumped in saying, "Then you'll help us out from now on, right Caren?"

There was a moment of silence and Attis took advantage of that as he swam over to Caren and quickly whispered, "Meet me on the beach later."

Caren got the message as Hanon and Rina looked skeptical at Lucia's sudden question. Then Caren swam upwards and said, "I'll say thanks for saving me, which Attis did most of the work anyway, but there's no way I'm going to be hanging around kids like the three of you. I'll let Attis be the one to baby-sit you three. I'll find Onee-chan by myself!"

Attis smirked as he watched Caren swim off by herself, alongside Lucia, Hanon, and Rina. Lucia sighed, "She's gone…"

"Jeez, she's such a rebel." Hanon commented, which made Attis nearly snort. However Lucia said happily, "But things still turned out well, right Rina?" When Hanon and Rina turned to her she said, "Caren understood that it was a misunderstanding."

"Yeah…" Rina said happily, looking out at the ocean. That's when Attis said, "Okay ladies, we better head back to shore now. I know that I need to."

As they headed back to shore, Rina said, "I really thought that you were dead Attis, when the Black Beauty Sisters told me." Attis assured her, "Don't worry Rina, girls. When it comes to Heartless, I'm not that easy to kill. As for car accidents, I'll hafta give it fifty-fifty."

"Attis!" The three girls shouted, and Attis laughed as they swam back towards the hotel they were staying at.

* * *

_Southern Island – beachside_

Later, Attis was at the beach, waiting for Caren to show up. That's when he heard sandy footsteps and he turned around to see Caren walking up to him in her human form. Attis greeted her, "Hey Caren, glad you could make it."

Caren was silent for a bit before she asked, "Do you really remember me Attis?"

"Of course, how could I forget the little purple mermaid that called me a 'filthy human' during our first meeting with Carisa?" Attis said with a smile. Before he knew it, Caren was hugging him with a smile on her face, and then she let go saying, "I'm so glad you're alright Attis. When Carisa-sama told me what had happened, I couldn't believe that you were gone for good."

"Well, at least you know now that I got bounced ten years to this time during that final battle somehow. For some reason, that's the only thing I still can't remember…" Attis said, shaking his head. Then he took out a piece of paper and gave it to her saying, "Here, this has my address and directions to the apartment I'm staying at. It's in the town where the Mermaid Contest took place, which by the way congrats on winning. I'm curious though, what did you do with the T.V.?"

"Oh, I donated it to some place." Caren replied as she took the paper. Attis thought, 'Man, I hope Rina doesn't find out about that.' Rolling his eyes, he said, "We'll find Noel, and bring her back, even if that means beating Gaito and Mayluna to a bloody pulp."

"Thank you Onii-chan." Caren said with a smile. Attis gave up on trying to convince her that she didn't need to call him that anymore, so instead he said, "I'll see you later Caren, and if you happen to find Gaito's real castle, tell me or the others first alright?"

Caren nodded and the two of them went their separate ways, as Attis thought, 'Well, a whole bunch of mysteries have been solved, I can wield Solaris and Lunaria again, and I feel better than before. The only problems left are the last bits of my memory and Mayluna, and after that I'll figure out what to do next…'

* * *

Note: This is one of the longest chapters I have ever written, and it so happens that this is the halfway point of the story. Hope those still sticking with this story enjoy reading it and I would like to hear what you all think of this story so far. Anyway look forward to the next chapters!


	29. Reacquainting With Caren

Chapter 29 – Reacquainting With Caren

_Attis' apartment_

'Is this the place?' Caren thought to herself, as she stood in front of the door to Attis' apartment.

It's been a number of days since the events with the Black Beauty Sisters, and things have started to settle down. Attis had gone back to work with enthusiasm, and Maki was glad that he gave Attis the time to recover. Today however, Attis had the day off due to the restaurant being closed for a few reasons.

Caren looked around and thought, 'Interesting place he has here. Might as well ring the doorbell.' She looked and pressed the doorbell and waited for a response. From the other side Attis called out, "Who is it?"

"It's me Caren!" Caren shouted back. She heard a noise before the door opened, with Attis on the other side saying, "Hey Caren, good to see you."

Attis moved out of the way as Caren walked in saying, "So this is where you're stay now huh?" She took a look around and found his place to have this homely feel. That's when she noticed something interesting on the couch, which happened to be Mogie pretending to be a stuffed doll.

The Moogle didn't know that Caren was a Mermaid Princess, and that she had knew about Moogles from Attis. Still, Attis was about to go to the kitchen when Caren said, "Oh, I didn't know you kept a stuffed animal around Attis."

"Uh, that's not-!" Attis began to say, but then Caren went over and picked it up saying, "You know, it kinda looks like those Moogle things you told me about ten years ago…"

Hearing that, Mogie decided to wiggle a bit and say, "Oh, if you know about Moogles, then you must be a Mermaid Princess kupo. Ah, I see the shell necklace too…kupo."

That freaked out Caren and it nearly made her throw Mogie across the room, if the Moogle didn't hold onto her hand saying, "Please don't throw me miss, kupo!"

Attis ran over and said, "Wait Caren, don't move!" Caren froze on the spot as Mogie wiggled himself free saying, "Whew, that was scary kupo! Her reaction was worse than the other Mermaid Princesses kupo!"

"…Attis, could you explain what's going on?" Caren asked, letting go of her posture. Attis looked from Caren to Mogie and said, "Caren, this is a Moogle name Mogie that's staying with me. Mogie, this is Caren, the Purple Pearl Mermaid Princess of the Antarctic Ocean."

Mogie nodded and said, "Oh, I see now kupo. I'm really sorry for scaring you Ms. Caren kupo." As the Moogle bowed in apology, Caren said, "Whew, I understand, and Moogles really do say 'kupo' a lot."

"I guess I should've warned you beforehand Caren." Attis said as he headed back to the kitchen. Caren sat down on the couch as he heard her say, "You think Attis?"

After preparing tea, Attis sat down on the couch beside Caren as he asked, "So, any leads on where Gaito's castle could be?"

"No, apparently many mermaid search teams have been dispatched, but so far, I haven't heard anything." Caren replied sadly as she drunk the tea Attis offered her. Attis sighed and said, "I see…"

There was a moment of silence before Mogie said, "I'll be going now. I have to synthesize a few things." Mogie then flew over to the door to his room and shut it right behind him as Attis said, "Alright Mogie."

"You know, I've been wondering," Caren started, "What have you been doing ever since you came to this time Onii-chan?"

Attis replied, "Oh man, a lot of things happened, and it's going to end up being a long, long story you know…"

"Don't worry, I'm quite used to your stories Onii-chan." Caren said with a smug look. Seeing that, Attis sighed and started to tell her from the beginning what had been going on for the past few months.

When he reached the part about Gaito and Mayluna crashing Lucia's coming of age ceremony on her birthday, Caren said, "Both of them showed up at the same time?!"

"Yeah, Gaito suddenly decides to crash the whole thing, while I found Mayluna sneaking around the palace looking for Lucia. Honestly I don't know what goes through her mind half the time." Attis told her.

"I see, so what happened next?" Caren asked. Attis went on with the story, telling her how he got found out thanks to his broken mask, and that he was confronted by the three Princesses a few days later, which earned a small giggle from Caren after he spilled the details.

That's when Attis went on with his story, up until the point where the Mermaid Contest was taking place that Caren said, "You know, when I saw you for the first time, I thought I was seeing things. I thought to myself that it must be just a coincidence seeing you at the contest."

"Really…? Well, what surprised me was our confrontation back in the forest, when I hadn't regained my lost memories." Attis replied, "By the way, I saw you giving weird looks at Mitsuki-san back then. Mind telling me what that's all about?"

"…I can't really say," Caren replied as she took another sip, "I just had an odd feeling about him for some reason."

"Okay…" Attis said, unsure what to say to that. Then he went on with the story, and when he reached the part about the whole wedding deal and Meru, Attis said, "I even have pictures from that time. You want to see?"

Caren nodded, and Attis brought them over. She looked through them, though when she stopped to look at the picture with Attis and Rina, Caren couldn't help but feel a slight twinge in her chest for some reason. Then she handed them back to Attis saying, "It must've been quite interesting to say the least."

"Yeah, especially when Izuru and Eriru were there and caused a lot of ruckus." Attis told her.

When Attis went on with the story, he even told her how he regained his memory when he fell unconscious, though he omitted the part about Solaris and Lunaria. If there was one thing he kept tight-lipped at all times, it was about his twin Keyblades' secret.

"…And that leads up to now." Attis finished, "There's my story, so how about you? Did you keep touch with Noel after you two became Mermaid Princesses?"

"Sadly, we couldn't, because things became so busy for us, that I couldn't even send Onee-chan a message." Caren told him with a sigh. Attis just nodded and said, "Well, when we rescue her from Gaito, and settle this whole mess, you two can catch up."

Caren smiled to that as the both of them finished their tea. That's when Attis remembered something and said, "I just remembered, there's a festival going on at the school where Lucia, Hanon, and Rina are attending. You want to come and check it out?"

A few seconds of silence passed by before Caren replied, "Sure, why not? I don't have anything else planned for today."

"Great, just let me get ready and we'll leave." Attis told her. Caren nodded, and when Attis was dressed properly, which all he did was put on a black dress shirt, the two of them left the apartment and made their way to the school festival.

* * *

_School Festival – School Hall_

After arriving and touring the festival, which Caren happened to find very interesting by the way, they made their way to the school hall, where the play that Lucia and the others' class was performing, which would be 'The Mermaid Princess'.

The two of them were standing at the back, since there weren't any seats left, and Attis had to bribe the ticket person to let them into the hall. He sighed as Caren said, "So Lucia, Hanon, and Rina are going to be in this play?"

"Yup," Attis replied, "Honestly, I'm curious as to how this play will turn out." He looked around, until he spotted two figures that were also standing, and were all too familiar to him. Attis sighed and whispered, "Better be careful, two water demons are standing to the right of us."

Caren stiffened a bit at that and she leaned over slightly to see Izuru and Eriru standing at the other side of the entrance. She whispered back, "Should we take care of them?"

"Nah, they're not making any trouble at the moment, and we don't know what they're up to. So we'll just let it go for now." Attis told her. Caren just nodded, but she was still a bit weary of them as she leaned back onto the wall.

When the play started, the curtains opened up revealing Lucia, Hanon, and Rina in their mermaid costumes. Attis nearly laughed at the irony at that as Caren said, "They're the opening act?"

Attis couldn't reply as he saw that Lucia had a case of stage fright, and that made her forget her lines. That's when Hanon stepped up and shouted, "Hey!" making Lucia turn and asked, "W-what is it, Hanon?"

A smirk came out of Attis' lips as Hanon said, "Who's this Hanon you speak of? I'm your older sister!"

"A-ah! Yeah, that's right!" Lucia said with embarrassment over her blunder. That made the some of the audience giggle, as well as Attis and Caren as she asked, "Please don't tell me Lucia's playing the part of the Mermaid Princess."

"Sure looks like it." Attis said with amusement on his face. The play went on with Hanon asking, "Don't you have something you want to ask us?"

"Ah, y-yes, I do!" Lucia said. Attis couldn't help but notice Rina looking on with an odd look on her face as Lucia said, "O-Onee-sama, please listen to what I have to say about what's above the sea." That's when Lucia went off and she struggled, "There's more…umm…more Kaito…no, that's not it…umm…"

Hanon couldn't believe what was happening as the audience laughed. Attis and Caren suppressed their own laughs as Caren asked, "Is she serious?"

"Wait, maybe this gets better." Attis told her. Onstage, Hanon gave a sigh saying, "Ah… The play's already ruined…" while Nikora, Taki, and Hippo sweatdropped as Hippo closed his saying, "I can't bear to watch this any longer!"

That's when Lucia suddenly remembered her line and said, "Oh… I remember now! Please listen more to what I have to say about the human world!" She tried moving, but she lost her balance and fell through the castle background. Lucia struggled to get out shouting, "S-someone save me! It's dark in here! It's really tight!"

Attis and Caren burst into laughter at that, as well as the audience as Hanon shouted, "What're you doing Lucia?!"

As Lucia continued to struggle, Rina covered for her saying, "How sad! She's still thinking about the stormy day when she saved the prince! Even now, her heart still hurts so painfully that she cannot say any words and cannot be moved from her sadness!"

For some reason, Attis couldn't help but think Rina sounded a bit dramatic at the last part, but it did draw away from Lucia's blunder. Meanwhile, Hanon was elated about Rina's adlib saying, "Ah, that's my Rina! It's not in the script, but it's still a nice cover!"

Two supporting fish actors came by and pulled Lucia out of the background and she turned around to say, "That's right, Onee-sama!"

Suddenly, there was a ripping sound coming from Lucia, and she looked down to see that her leg had ripped out of her mermaid tail costume. Hanon shouted Lucia's name, while the audience was laughing at the scene. Attis and Caren clutched their stomach while laughing as Caren said, "Oh my gosh, I'm so glad that you brought me here Attis! Ha ha ha!"

"I'm glad I came here too! Ha ha ha!" Attis said while laughing.

Rina tried to adlib again by saying, "Whoa! For this to have happened! You've already been granted legs by the witch?"

Unfortunately, that would twist the play too much and Hanon knew that. She shouted, "Ahh Rina! If you say things like that so soon, we won't be able to continue with the rest of our lines!"

Lucia panicked while on stage, while the audience continued to laugh as the curtain fell down to close the act. Caren was still laughing as she said, "I can't believe those three, they're you-know-what, but can't act like it!"

"I can agree with you there." Attis nodded, "The only one that was able to keep her cool was Rina, but she couldn't cover everything, unfortunately…"

They laughed a bit more until everyone calmed down, and soon, the next number of acts opened up with not much to laugh about, though there was a certain part where Lucia tripped on her tail again, crashing into Rina, which in turn got Rina's butt poked by one of the trident props held by one of the mermaid actresses.

Soon, the next scene opened up to show Kaito on the boat prop and Lucia, Hanon, and Rina on the bottom looking up. As the scene went on, the doors to the side suddenly opened and a water dragon came through, making Attis and Caren look as Attis said, "That's one of Izuru's summoned dragons!"

"What do we do Attis?" Caren asked as they watched the water dragon miss Lucia and Rina, and grabbed three of the mermaid actresses. Attis had an annoyed look on his face as he said, "We can't do anything now, there's too many people here right now…"

They watched as the audience were concerned for the girls, while Izuru and Eriru appeared onstage, thinking that they actually caught real mermaids. That's when Rina got an idea and said, "So you've shown yourselves, you evil witches!"

Izuru and Eriru were confused by that, while the audience calmed down, thinking it was just part of the play. Caren couldn't believe it and whispered, "Are humans this gullible?"

"You don't want to know." Attis replied. As the scene was being played out, Rina addressed the audience, "Now everyone, watch us beat these evil witches with our beautiful voices!"

"She doesn't mean-?" Caren asked. Attis nodded and said, "It's exactly what you think." Caren couldn't believe it until everything went dark, and when the lights came back on to show Lucia, Hanon, and Rina in their idol forms. The audience grew ecstatic by their appearance, while Caren couldn't believe it, but at least they would be able to get rid of Izuru and Eriru, she figured.

When the three started singing Super Love Songs, it started to have an immediate effect, and the dragon let go of the girls and it ran away in the face of the songs. When it in ended with their signature, "Love Shower Pitch!" Izuru and Eriru vanished, while the girls asked, "How about an encore?"

The audience started shouting for an encore, which Caren found a bit disbelieving. She was about to say something when Attis told her, "Oh, they'll sing for them. I told you they've done it before."

They watched as the girls transformed into their super idol forms, which made Attis ask, "Don't you have a super idol form Caren?"

"Yes, but I don't use it unless I really have to." Caren replied. That made Attis ask, "So why didn't you use it against the Black Beauty Sisters?"

"They snuck up on me and trapped me before I could transform. I was able to turn into my idol form in the bubble, but it prevented me from turning into my super idol form. You can figure out the rest." Caren told him.

Attis gave a nod saying, "I understand completely." They watched as Lucia, Hanon, and Rina sang a song that was new to them, and the name flashed though Attis and Caren's head: Yume no Sono Saki he.

As the song went on, Attis couldn't help but ask, "Do all you mermaids love to sing?"

"Of course! What kind of question is that Onii-chan?" Caren asked him suspiciously.

Attis just sighed and as the song ended he said, "Just asking…" However, he was on the lookout for any Heartless that might appear, but none showed up as the curtain fell. Attis was a bit relieved at that, while a part of him was suspicious as the next scene showed itself, with Kaito and Lucia onstage.

As the scene went on, Attis and Caren grew a bit concerned when the play took a turn with Lucia starting to talk. As things started to take an emotional turn, Attis leaned over to Caren and asked in a whisper, "Lucia won't turn into bubbles, will she? I mean, this is only just a play and all."

"I don't think so," Caren whispered back, "Unless she explicitly tells him that she's a mermaid, nothing will happen."

"Let's hope so." Attis whispered as the stage went dark. When it came back on, there was nothing but foam where Lucia stood. Attis gave a look to Caren, but she just shook her head and the two of them applauded with the audience at the end of the play.

* * *

_School Hall – Backstage_

Backstage, Attis and Caren found the room the others were in, and they heard Hanon say, "Lucia! What are you going to do about the script that I wrote?!"

"But…" Lucia whined, unable to find an excuse. Rina stepped up to say, "But anyway, I'm really glad…that you didn't turn into bubbles, that is."

"Yeah!" Lucia agreed happily. That's when Attis said, "Good thing too, 'cause I don't think we can afford to lose a Mermaid Princess."

Everyone turned around to see Attis and Caren walk in, and Lucia said, "Oh, Attis, Caren, how did you like the play!"

"It was the most hilarious thing I've ever seen at first," Caren said without restraint, "But overall, it was pretty good, especially with dealing with those water demons. Overall, I would say that it went well for the most part."

"I agree, but I think the best parts were the ones were Lucia messed up." Attis said with a laugh. Caren nodded to that and she started giggling while Lucia said, "Oh, it wasn't that bad."

Attis, Caren, Taki, and Nikora burst into fits of laughter while Hanon and Rina eyed her with scrutinizing looks, while Hippo just shook his head in disbelief. When they calmed down, Caren turned to Nikora and Taki saying, "So you two must be Nikora-san and Taki-san. I'm Caren, the Antarctic Ocean Mermaid Princess."

"It's a pleasure to meet you Caren-sama." Nikora said and the two shook hands. Taki nodded in greeting too as Caren said, "Please, just call me Caren for now."

Lucia, Hanon, and Rina were surprised by Caren's change in attitude, while Caren said, "Let's go Attis, there's some more things I want to see."

Caren grabbed Attis by the arm, and dragged him out of the room with him saying, "Hey, wait a minute Caren! I can walk by myself…!"

When they were gone, Hanon said, "You know, I thought about this before, but does anyone know what the connection is between Caren and Attis?"

Everyone in the room was silent for a bit, since they didn't know, when Hippo suggested, "Maybe you can ask Attis-san about it later. I mean, it couldn't hurt I guess…"

"I guess we can do that…" Rina said. For some reason, she had this slightly odd feeling in her stomach when she saw Caren drag Attis off, but she dismissed it as being hungry.

* * *

_Attis' apartment_

After finishing touring the festival, Attis and Caren went their separate ways, with Attis saying that she could stay with him or at Pearl Piari if she needed too, with her telling him that she'll keep it in mind. Attis just smiled as he watched Caren go off into the ocean and swim away thinking, 'Whew, we should go to another one, but with Noel next time.'

When Attis returned to his apartment, he couldn't help but feel slightly exhausted as Mogie came over and asked, "Are you alright kupo?"

"Yeah, just a bit tired Mogie, nothing serious." Attis replied. He went over to the middle of the room and held his hands out, summoning Solaris and Lunaria in his hands. Mogie was surprised by that and said, "Wow! You got the twin Keyblades back kupo?!"

"I sure did Mogie, and it feels great." Attis replied. Then he put them down on the table and held out his right hand, this time summoning Aqualis. He looked at it and said, "You know, I wonder why I can still summon this Keyblade. Aqualis was supposed to be just a replacement until I got Solaris and Lunaria back, as well as the Castle Key…"

Holding out his other hand, the Castle Key appeared in his hand and that's when he got the idea, "Fu fu, maybe this will work out too. I've been a duel wielder for a while now, and this kind of match up might be good too…"

Making all four of his Keyblades vanish, Attis sat down on the couch, thinking about his techniques that he managed to reacquire. Not to mention the magic that he had recovered thinking, 'I have first level and second level magic all down. I feel the 'ga' magic is somewhat around the corner, but 'ja' magic…man that was hard to learn… It took me a year to master four of them, and even then, there's still Flare, Meteor, and Ultima. Ha, this is going to be tough alright…'

The rest of the day was uneventful, except for the small intrusion of Lucia, Hanon, and Rina, who asked him what his connection to Caren was. Attis told them the story, and the three of them were surprised to hear that he knew Noel as well, something that puzzled Rina, since she never mention him to her before. After that Attis had dinner with the girls at Pearl Piari, talked for a bit, and went back to his apartment to go to sleep.


	30. The Other Trio

Chapter 30 – The Other Trio

_Maki's restaurant_

A few days later, Attis was busy with the orders when Maki called him over to the bar to talk about something. Curious, he went over and asked, "What is it Maki-san?"

"I just want to tell you that Asumi, Hitomi, and Mayumi are coming over in a few days to visit." Maki told him. It took a moment for Attis to register the information before he said, "Huh? All three of them are coming in a few days?!"

Maki nodded and said, "Yeah, they're coming over to visit. Something about all of them having free time." Attis raised an eyebrow and said, "Okay, so they'll be coming here to the restaurant then?"

"Yeah, so can I count on you to see that they're attended to?" Maki asked. Attis gave a sigh and replied, "Sure, why not?"

A nod came from Maki as he said, "Thank you very much Attis. You're the only one other than me that knows all three of them here, and I have to take over for kitchen duty on that day."

Attis nodded in understanding, and Maki went back to manning the bar while he thought, 'So those three are coming huh? And that day is when Lucia and the others are off from school too.'

* * *

_Beachside_

The next day, Attis was working when the Red Pearl in his pocket started flashing, and Attis knew that the girls were in danger with either water demons, or the Heartless. He didn't take his break yet, so he took that chance to go on break and told Maki he was going for a quick walk.

After Maki approved it, Attis immediately headed down the beach, until he found Lucia, Hanon, and Rina in their super idol forms, surrounded by Heartless. One tried to lunge at them, but Rina kicked it away, making it fly back. Hanon hit another one with her e-Pitch, making it fall back staggering.

Attis summoned Solaris and Lunaria, charging right at one of the Heartless and dispatching it in one slice. The Heartless turned their attention to him as Attis shouted, "You three better go now! I'll handle this."

"Thanks Attis!" The three of them said and they ran off. Taking a look at the Heartless, they consisted of Shadows and Aerial Soldiers and Attis shook his head saying, "This can't be it…"

Taking care of the Heartless, Attis looked around for anymore, but no more popped up. As his Keyblades vanished Attis wondered, "What the heck is going on these days…"

* * *

_Maki's restaurant_

The day came where Asumi, Hitomi, and Mayumi were supposed to show up, yet Attis carried on like it was any regular day. Truth be told, Attis had no clue when those three were supposed to show up, since Maki didn't specify any certain time for some reason. That made him shake his head upon realizing that and thought, 'Ha…I can't believe that I overlooked that…'

Kaito was helping out today and Attis wondered what would his reaction would be when he met them. He was sort of looking forward to that when the door opened, and a familiar voice said, "It's been a while since I've been to Uncle's restaurant."

Looking around, Attis saw Asumi, Hitomi, and Mayumi together at the entrance. Smirking to himself, he walked over saying, "Hi you three, it's been a while."

The three girls looked at him and Asumi said, "Oh hi Attis-san, you're in today!"

"Yeah, Maki-san want me to keep a lookout for you three." Attis told them. Hitomi smiled and said, "Well, it looks like we're going to get the royal treatment here, eh Nee-san?"

"Sure looks like it." Mayumi said. That's when Kaito came around saying, "Hey Attis, I though I heard Lucia and the others come in…" He trailed off after seeing Asumi, Hitomi, and Mayumi.

Attis decided to say something and said, "Oh girls, this is Kaito Doumoto. He's helps us and Maki-san with the restaurant whenever he can."

They nodded and Asumi said, "It's nice to meet you Doumoto-san. I'm Asumi Nataka." Then it was Hitomi's turn, "Hi, my name's Hitomi Terakado. Pleasure to meet you Doumoto-kun." Last was Mayumi, who said, "And my name's Mayumi Asano, and it's nice to meet you Doumoto-san."

The look on Kaito's face was priceless, in Attis' opinion. You could say that he looked shocked, since he met three girls that sounded just like Lucia, Hanon, and Rina. Asumi and the others were puzzled by Kaito's look until Attis told them, "He's friends with Lucia, Hanon, and Rina."

An 'oh' came from their mouths, and Attis assumed that Asumi heard about it from Hitomi, just like Mayumi did. The shock subsided in Kaito and said, "S-sorry about that. Anyway, it's nice to meet the three of you too."

"Ah, I see you've met my niece, Hitomi, and Mayumi." Maki's voice came from behind. Kaito and Attis turned to see Maki behind them and Kaito said, "Yeah, but it's surprising that they sound just like Lucia, Hanon, and Rina thought."

"I know, I had those thoughts too." Maki told him. That's when Asumi asked, "Uncle Maki, did you get the thing for that event?"

"Yup, it's in the staff room under a cloth." Maki replied. Attis and Kaito wondered what Asumi was talking about as she nodded and said, "Okay then, we'll go check on it then."

Hitomi and Mayumi nodded and the three headed for the staff room, while both Kaito and Attis were confused by that, though they both knew what item he was talking about. Attis asked, "What event Maki-san?"

"Oh that's right, I forgot to tell you." Maki said, "The girls are going to be singing here as, well, kind of a promotion for the restaurant. Today's the tenth year that the restaurant's been open, and that's from before I became the new owner."

Both Attis and Kaito raised their eyebrows as Attis said, "Well, I guess that makes sense…" However, a part of him thought, 'Unless they sing 'those' songs… Maybe Lucia and the others won't show up…'

That's when Attis asked, "Um Maki-san, did you advertise this by any chance?"

"Well, I told a number of customers about this for a few days now, and by the looks of things, word of it got around." Maki replied. Attis and Kaito looked around, and they did see that it was busier than usual.

Another customer called for their order to be taken, and Kaito had to go and attend to them as Maki went back to behind the bar. That's when the door opened, and Attis nearly face-palmed himself when he saw Lucia, Hanon, Rina, Nikora, Taki, and Hippo come through the door. Taking a sigh, he went over to them saying, "Hi everyone, need a table?"

"Hey Attis!" Lucia, Hanon, and Rina said. Nikora, Taki, and Hippo just nodded to his presence. Lucia said, "We came because Maki-san said that something special was going on today, since it's the restaurant's tenth anniversary."

"Sure, just let me-." Attis started but then he heard voices coming from the staff room, and then he heard Asumi say, "Okay, it looks like everything's ready for today."

Then Hitomi asked, "So where is everything going to be set up anyway?"

Mayumi answered her saying, "That's what we're going to ask Maki-san, or Attis-san."

Everyone with Attis was surprised at the sound of their voices, and they turned to Attis for an explanation. However, before he could say anything, the three girls in question came out of the staff room with Asumi asking, "Um Attis-san, where should we-?"

Asumi stopped however, when she saw him in front of Lucia and the others. Lucia, Hanon, and Rina took a good look at the three, and they instantly recognized Hitomi, and the same was for her as she said, "Oh, if it isn't Lucia, Hanon, and Rina! They're the girls that I told you two about."

Both Asumi and Mayumi raised their eyebrows at that, but Asumi said, "Hello everyone, I'm Asumi Nataka, Uncle Maki's niece."

Then Mayumi spoke up, "And I'm Mayumi Asano, and I'm glad that I finally get to meet the girls that sound just like us."

Sufficed to say, Lucia, Hanon, and Rina were in a bit of shock, as well as Nikora, Taki, and Hippo. That's when Hanon broke the ice saying, "Mayumi Asano? As in the model Mayumi Asano?"

"That's right Hoshou-san." Mayumi said with a small smile. Hanon was taken aback that Mayumi knew her name for a second, but realized that Hitomi must've told her about them back then. Then Mayumi said, "We might know your names, but I think a proper introduction would be nice."

Attis, meanwhile, had to take a few orders since he was still working, and by the time he got back to them, everyone had introduced themselves and Mayumi was currently looking over Rina since Hanon and Lucia said that she was offered to be a model once. Rina felt a bit uncomfortable as Mayumi said, "Hmm, you have quite the look, so I can see why you were offered. But it's your choice if you want to be one or not, so I won't say anything."

Rina smiled at that and said, "Thank you Mayumi-san."

Then Asumi noticed Attis approaching and remembered what she was going to ask. She said, "Oh Attis, I was going to ask where everything is going to be set up. So do you know?"

Pointing to a certain spot by the windows, Attis told her, "Everything's going to be set up in that corner, so could you three get everything ready? I still have my hands full here."

The three of them nodded and they walked back to the staff room, while Attis guided Lucia's group to a table. Getting back to work, some of the workers, including Kaito, were setting up a small stage as even more people got into the restaurant, waiting for this special show.

Soon, Caren showed up, and Attis was surprised to see here as he approached her. Caren saw Attis and said, "So this is where you work huh Attis?"

"C-Caren? What are you doing here?" Attis asked, a bit surprised to see Caren in front of him. She replied, "I was looking around in town, when I heard that this place was celebrating something, and it's quite the event from what I hear."

"Okay…" Attis said, unsure of what to make of it, "Anyway, do you want to sit with Lucia and the others, or…"

"I'll sit by myself Attis." Caren told him. Attis gave a nod and he led her to the bar, which thankfully was vacant. She sat down and Kaito took her order, as Lucia and the others noticed that Caren had arrived.

_Nanairo no kaze ni fukarete_

_ Tooi misaki wo mezashiteta_

Suddenly the restaurant became quiet as Legend of Mermaid came from the staff room, which had its door open. The four Mermaid Princesses froze up, as the voices sounded just like Lucia, Hanon, and Rina's! They looked to Attis for answers, while the other customers couldn't help but listen.

_Yoake mae kikoeta melody_

_ Sore wa totemo natsukashii uta_

Attis gave the mermaids a look that said, 'I'll tell you girls later!' and he walked off towards the staff room. When he got there, Attis found Asumi, Hitomi, and Mayumi practicing singing together.

_Higashi no sore e to habataku toritachi_

_ Saa, takarajima ni nukeru chikamichi_

_ Nanatsu no umi no rakuen_

_ Arashi no yoru no ato ni wa ai wo tsutaerutame inochi ga mata umareru_

_ Nanatsu no kuni no melodia_

_ Daremo ga itsuka wa ko tabidatsu hi ga kitemo_

_ Watashi wa wasurenai_

With that, the song ended prematurely, and the customers couldn't help but clap in response. That got the girls' attention and they saw Attis standing there at the entrance with a raised eyebrow. Behind him were Lucia, Hanon, and Rina, who were looking at the three intently as Attis said, "Wow, so the three of you do know that song."

"Yup, it was the first song that came to us that we learned." Asumi replied. The four of them walked in, with Caren coming by and standing beside the door to listen. Lucia, Hanon, and Rina looked like they were bursting with questions, and Attis saw that they wanted them answered right away, so he asked, "That reminds me, how did you learn those songs again girls?"

"Oh, that's right. It's ironic actually." Asumi started, "All of us had the same dream one night a few years ago, that we were greeted by a beautiful woman with long blond hair and a white dress, and she taught us these songs. After that, we find that they've been added to our karaoke machine. Believe me when I say it was a shock, and not too long ago, that person visited us in a dream again."

Lucia, Hanon, Rina, and Caren were quite surprised by that, since they must've been referring to Aqua Regina, but that only raised even more questions. Then Hitomi said, "Oh, we need to get these things out so we can sing."

"Right, well if you would excuse us." Mayumi said, and the three girls went over and picked up various things that were needed for a stage and left the room. Caren came in soon after as Lucia asked, "What's with those three, and why do they know our songs?"

"I dunno." Attis replied, "For all I know, they could be your human counterparts or something. I don't know what goes through Aqua Regina's mind. All I can do is just go with the flow for now, so I suggest you three do the same. Thinking about it won't change much of anything you know."

"…I guess your right." Lucia replied. Hanon, Rina, and Caren all just nodded and they walked out of the staff room. Attis just sighed and said, "I hope today just runs smoothly…"

Back in the restaurant, things were being set up, while Attis had noticed that Kaito was looking at Asumi a bit oddly, but that was cleared up after Kaito had told Attis that he suspected Asumi of being that mermaid. Attis cleared that up by reminding him that Asumi was Maki's niece, so it wouldn't be possible.

Then Taro came by, and Hanon was elated, though she got a bit jealous that he greeted Asumi, Hitomi, and Mayumi first, and then he sat down with Hanon and the others after a quick greeting with Attis. He looked around and saw that the place was now packed, with the outside being just as crowded. The screen doors were open and that made the place feel more packed, though Attis suspected the main reason it was crowded was because of Mayumi and her rising popularity, due to the amount of guys.

Now with Asumi, Hitomi, and Mayumi onstage, everything looked ready as Asumi said, "Hello, and welcome. Today we're celebrating the tenth anniversary since this restaurant's opening, and the three of us will sing a number of songs to celebrate. Just to let everyone know, we don't actually own the songs that we'll sing, and they might sound familiar to some, so please bear with us."

The crowd was confused by that as Super Love Songs started to play, which half of the crowd recognized from the meteor shower. Maki came out and was surprised by that as well as the girls started singing.

As the song went on, Lucia, Hanon, and Rina couldn't help but be amazed by how much those three sounded exactly like them when they sang. Meanwhile Attis stood back with Caren and watched as Asumi, Hitomi, and Mayumi sang the full version of Super Love Songs, complete with a small dance. Attis saw that they were moving to the grove while they sang, much like Lucia, Hanon, and Rina when they sang to the water demons.

After that, one of the people in the crowd shouted, "Excuse me, but are you three the idols from the meteor shower?"

Half the crowd was thinking of the same thing as Asumi said, "Sorry, but we don't know what you're talking about mister. This is the first time we sung that song in front of an audience."

That left the crowd confused as Hitomi and Mayumi left the stage, leaving Asumi by herself. As Splash Dream started up Asumi said, "This is my favorite song, and I hope I'll do as good as the owner!"

When Asumi started singing Splash Dream, Lucia couldn't help but blush a bit, as well as be amazed that Asumi was singing the song perfectly. Halfway through it, Lucia started singing along, which happened to catch Asumi's attention. So during the break, Asumi said, "Lucia-san, why don't you come up here?"

Lucia got embarrassed when Asumi called her, but then she grabbed Lucia and dragged her onto the stage and whispered, "You know the lyrics to Splash Dream?"

When Lucia nodded, Asumi said, "Then come on and sing with me!" That somehow got Lucia in the mood, and when the next lyrics came, the two of them sang together, surprising the crowd, not to mention the others, as well as Kaito.

With Splash Dream finished, the crowd applauded and the two of them stepped down. That's when something hit Hitomi and she went over to Hanon and whispered, "Ne Hanon-san, you don't happen to know the lyrics to Ever Blue, do you?"

"Yes I do. Why you want me to get up on stage with you?" Hanon asked. Hitomi nodded and said, "If you do, maybe you can catch Taro-chan's attention."

That settled it for Hanon and the two of them walked onto the stage as Ever Blue started up. Hitomi said, "You know everyone, this is my favorite song, because I found it to be so touching."

Hanon blushed slightly at that as the two started singing, surprising the audience with another duet of voices that sounded exactly alike. Looking at Taro, Hanon saw that his eyes were glued to them, and she was happy about that which helped with their singing.

Halfway through the song, Mayumi went over to Rina and said, "You want to do the same thing Rina-san?"

"…And what will you'll be singing?" Rina asked suspiciously. Mayumi predictably replied, "Star Jewel. I take it that you know it?"

Rina nodded and replied, "Sure, I'll go up with you. The others did." Mayumi smiled and said, "Okay then, after this one."

As Mayumi looked on to watch Hanon and Hitomi's duet, Rina couldn't help but feel slightly suspicious for some reason, with the memory of the scorched rooftop coming back to her. However, she shook her head to get rid of that thought, since she found Mayumi to be quite a nice person.

After Ever Blue was finished, both Hanon and Hitomi walked off and headed towards Taro, who complimented, "You two sounded just amazing up there."

"T-thank you very much Mitsuki-sensei." Hanon said with a blush. Hitomi just said, "Taro-chan's right you know. I don't think it would've sounded as good without you up there Hanon-san."

"Oh Hitomi-san!" Hanon said with a blush. Next up was Rina and Mayumi, and their beauty captivated the crowd, as whispers started about Rina being a model as well, and that Mayumi had taken Rina under her wing. Mayumi just smiled and whispered, "Wow, you must be quite popular around here."

"More than you know." Rina whispered back, remembering that she had both male and female admirers. When Star Jewel started, Mayumi said, "This is my favorite song, since I think it sounds cool."

Rina couldn't help but crack a small smile as the two started singing. Their song pretty much captured the crowd, and the way that they were moving to the beat kept their eyes glued to them. Attis found the whole thing quite interesting, and even saw Caren had her eyes on them.

During parts of the song, Attis was subconsciously playing an air guitar, which Caren noticed and she asked, "Um Attis, what are you doing?"

Attis realized with he was doing and stopped saying, "Sorry about that. I play the guitar, so sometimes I do that when I hear a song that involves one."

After the song was finished, the crowd clapped and cheered, and Attis couldn't help but worry that all the noise might attract the police or something. Rina and Mayumi bowed and got off the stage for a small interlude, where Attis saw that Asumi, Hitomi, and Mayumi were talking to each other about something.

When another order of drinks were delivered to the customers, Asumi, Hitomi, and Mayumi got back on stage as Asumi said, "This is a new song that we recently learned, so we hope you enjoy it!"

That's when Kizuna started to play, and Lucia, Hanon, and Rina were surprised, since they too only learned it recently from Aqua Regina. They started to sing, with them dancing to the groove, and the crowd loved it, making Attis and Caren have intrigued looks at the crowd. As Kizuna finished, the crowd clapped and cheered to their performance, that Maki came out and said, "So, would you call this a success Attis?"

"I'd like to think so." Attis replied without turning around. Caren looked at him a bit funny, and Attis just smirked as another order was called and he had to go back to work.

Soon, Asumi said, "Well, it looks like this is our ending song, so I hope that you can enjoy it. That's when a tune started up that none of them had ever heard of, and what they sang was completely unfamiliar, though the Red Pearl in Attis' pocket seemed to tell him the title, which said, 'Daiji na Takarabako'.

After singing that song, the audience applauded as Asumi announced that it was the end of the show, and that she hoped everyone enjoyed it. Then the three gave a bow and walked off the stage.

Later, Asumi, Hitomi, and Mayumi were saying their goodbyes to Lucia, Hanon, Rina, Caren, and Attis, after Caren was introduced to the three. That's when Mayumi said, "You know, you sound just like a college friend of mine Caren-san, Ema Kogure."

That made everyone raise an eyebrow as Asumi said, "We'll see everyone later, since we'll be staying at Uncle Maki's for a few days. Until then!"

"Bye!" Everyone said as the three left the restaurant. Attis looked around and saw that Maki was busy talking to Nikora but figured that they must've said something to him. Attis sighed and couldn't help but think that today was a particularly stressful day, and since Maki asked him to work overtime again, he roped Lucia, Hanon, Rina, and Caren into it as well, which Maki gave the okay, and Attis couldn't help but smirk at how things turned out.


	31. Plan and Anguish

Chapter 31 – Plan and Anguish

_Pearl Piari – Lucia's room_

Attis was in the room with the girls and Hippo, since they had called him over after work to discuss something. Soon into the conversation, Attis found that it was all about finding Gaito's castle, and how it seemed impossible to find at the moment.

That's when Attis heard Hippo explain, "There's no way that the four of you will be able to find Gaito's castle with only your powers. You know what will happen. You mustn't forget about Noel-sama, the Mermaid Princess Gaito caught. There's already a huge search in progress at the bottom of the sea, looking all over for it." Then the penguin sighed and said, "But then again, right now no one else has contacted us, and we have no clues as to where it is. Though, I'm sure they're using all of their resources to keep themselves hidden to protect themselves."

"Not to mention that Mayluna's helping them. With her being able to manipulate darkness itself, she could be helping them mask their presence." Attis added.

"Yes, that sounds very troubling Attis-san." Hippo said. Then Hanon asked, "So does that mean there's no way to find Gaito's castle?"

Hippo turned to Hanon and replied, "I'm afraid as of right now, yes."

"Wouldn't the Pearl Radar help?" Attis asked, "I mean, Noel's been captured, so her pearl must be with them, right?"

"Ha, we've already tried that," Hippo told him, "The search teams have one with them, and so far, nothing's come up. It must mean that Gaito's castle must have some way to block the pearl's presence, or something like that."

Attis shook his head, while Rina said, "I've thought about it a lot, and I've come up with one way."

Everyone turned to Rina as Hippo asked, "Rina-san? What method is that?"

Rina simply replied, "I'll be bait and get captured by them."

They all looked at her in shock, while Hippo just froze at that as Hanon asked, "You'll be the bait?"

"What are you saying, Rina-san?" Hippo shouted in shock, making Attis wince at the sound of his voice. Meanwhile, Rina replied, "I'll be captured by them, and when they do, they'll take me to where Gaito's castle is, right?"

"Rina-san, that's way too dangerous!" Hippo shouted, trying to get her to back out. Apparently no one was listening to him as Rina said, "Hanon, Lucia, and Attis can follow, and right before they enter the castle, they can come and help me. I'm sure things will turn out fine that way."

"I see. We do have the Pearl Radar to know where you are afterwards." Hanon said. Attis listened to all of it, but for some reason, he felt that something was missing as Lucia said, "Yeah, if we do that, we can do this right away!"

"J-just wait a second here, Lucia-san!" Hippo said in a panic, "If you make a mistake, Rina-san will be…"

Lucia just winked and said, "Hippo, keep this a secret from Onee-chan!"

Hippo just stood there in disbelief, while Rina turned to Attis and said, "So, is this plan good Attis?"

"…Yeah, let's try this out and see if it works." Attis replied after thinking about it. Then Rina said, "Okay, then let's head out later tonight."

* * *

_Oceanside – rocky edge_

Later, Attis was with Lucia, Hanon, and Hippo as Rina was sitting on a rock in her mermaid form singing Star Jewel out to the ocean. After waiting for a bit, Attis started to get impatient as Hippo sighed saying, "Ah…if Nikora-san finds out about this…I'll be…"

"But we've been here for a while already, and they still haven't shown up." Lucia said tiredly. Hanon added, "And I thought our plan was perfect too…"

"…I think I know what the problem is." Attis said finally. Lucia, Hanon, and Hippo looked at him as Lucia asked, "What is it?"

"It's too obvious." Attis simply replied. When there was no response, Attis went on, "You girls have been going by pretty cautiously to avoid being caught by Gaito's minions right? Wouldn't it be pretty suspicious if one of you girls suddenly became more relaxed and hung around the area in your mermaid form practically defenseless? They might not be the smartest bunch of individuals, but I don't think they'll fall for this one."

Hanon slapped her head saying, "When you say it like that Attis, it makes it obvious that we're just wasting our time out here."

"Don't worry, the bait plan's good, but we'll have to make it less obvious somehow…" Attis told her. Lucia was silent in thought as Attis shouted, "Hey Rina, let's head back for now. We'll try this again later!"

Rina gave a nod and jumped back into the water to swim up to their boat. Meanwhile, Lucia whispered, "A way to make it less obvious huh…?"

* * *

_Beachside – surfing contest_

A few days later, Attis was standing with Lucia, Hanon, and Rina since he had the day off due to the masquerade surfing contest that Maki had come up with. The girls had explained the plain to them about how the Dark Lovers might show up to this contest, and they'll use it as a cover for the bait plan. Honestly, Attis couldn't help but feel impressed by the change in plan, and immediately agreed to it after hearing it.

As they watched, they saw the next entry to come up, which happened to be Eriru in a ballerina dress and she was spinning on her surfboard. Then she fell off after spinning to much, while the four of them realized it was Eriru and Rina said, "We'll go as the plan called for. I'll be the decoy and be captured by them. You will wait at the boat Lucia. Hanon and Attis will wait underwater, and we'll wing the rest. If something unexpected happens, I need you to bail me out Attis."

"No problem." Attis said with professionalism as Lucia and Hanon did the same. The four of them split up and Attis changed into his black cloak when they were out of sight, and when they dove into the water, Attis said, "You know Rina, you sounded like a platoon leader just now."

"Really? Heh, I didn't notice." Rina replied. Attis just shrugged as Rina headed for the surface, while he and Hanon headed to an area that they were going to stage the whole thing.

They hid behind a rock and as Rina came along, Izuru and Maria showed up and looked confident since Rina was all alone. Attis heard Hanon whisper, "They've fallen into the trap and are completely clueless!"

"You go that right," Attis whispered, "I'm going to go around for a better position."

"Alright Attis." Hanon whispered back as Attis went away to hide behind another rock. Looking from his new position, Attis saw Izuru and Maria try to attack Rina, and when things were going good, he heard Caren's voice come from out of nowhere shouting, "Purple Pearl Voice!"

As Caren transformed, Attis couldn't help but think, 'Dang, when did she show up? Talk about bad timing Caren…'

With Caren singing Aurora no Kaze ni Notte all Attis, Hanon, and Rina could do was watch as Caren's song sent Izuru and Maria running. Attis and Hanon had similar thoughts when the water demons retreated when suddenly; Eriru and Yuri appear from behind Hanon. They grab her and she screams, which caught Attis and Rina's attention, and as they swim off, Attis thinks, 'Oh well, a slight change in plan, but this should work out.'

Meanwhile, Caren was confused when Rina mentioned a plan and when Attis swam up to them, Caren asked, "Attis, what the heck is going on?"

"Sorry Caren, have Rina fill you in on the details. I need to hurry and start tracking them down." Attis summoned Aqualis and fused the Red Pearl to it, and put the Keyblade on his back, where it magically stayed. Caren tried to call out to him one more time, but Attis already sped off.

Attis was careful not to get too close to them, or else they would spot him. He used his scan's ability to keep a lock on Hanon, while maintaining distance. Meanwhile Caren and Rina were together and when they went up to Lucia's boat, they heard Kaito talking to Lucia and Rina said, "That Lucia… Why did she let Kaito on the yacht too?"

"Oh, was bringing a human along while doing this a part of your little scheme too?" Caren asked a bit smugly. Rina just looked at her and replied a bit sarcastically, "Actually, we did, unless Attis is considered to be something else?"

Caren just bit her lip after realizing what Rina just said. Meanwhile, as Attis kept on going, Gaito's castle came into view and he thought, 'So that's Gaito's castle, huh? No wonder no one could find it; it's literally moving by itself! Oh man, is that an aura of darkness surrounding it too? If that's the case, then Mayluna would be able to take control of it from Gaito when the time comes…'

Having the castle in his sights, Attis broke off from the pursuit and went off in a different direction, heading towards the entrance. Casting a Hastera spell on himself, Attis sped off to the castle's entrance, but then some kind of gate appeared to block him. Holding Aqualis and pointing it to the gate's lock, a beam of light shot out of his Keyblade and hit the lock, opening it.

Blowing right through it, Attis went straight for the entrance, just as a flash of light appeared from the corner of his eye. Going through the entrance, he thought, 'The girls must've just got here…'

* * *

_Gaito's castle – Entrance Hall_

Now that Attis was inside Gaito's castle, he looked around and realized that he didn't have a clue where to look first. That's when Heartless consisting of Soldiers and Shadows appeared, and said, "Wow, nice welcoming committee."

Attis put Aqualis on his back, then summoned Solaris and Lunaria saying, "Sorry, but I need to get through you guys quickly!"

After mowing down the Heartless, Attis wondered where to go next when the Red Pearl in Aqualis glowed for an instant and it started floating in front of him. It pointed him in a certain direction, and Attis ran in the direction it pointed, since he felt that this was an 'act first, ask questions later' type of situation.

In the halls, Attis ran into more Heartless, but he took them down in no time, desperate to head for the destination that Aqualis was pointing too. For some reason, Attis had a feeling that he had a limited amount of time to work with, and made every second count.

* * *

_Gaito's castle – Throne Room_

When Attis reached the throne room, the first thing he saw was the seven cases that were built into the pillars that supported the room, which he found eerie. As Aqualis setted back onto his back, he continued to look around, having a bad feeling about the room. However, Attis noticed that there were two cases that weren't empty, and who were in them shocked Attis to the core.

Inside one of the cases was Noel, who looked like she was sleeping peacefully, though she looked like she was on display, something that made Attis feel sick. However, it didn't stop there when Attis saw Coco in the case next to Noel's and it made Attis back away saying, "Noel…Coco…"

Suddenly, more Heartless showed up, this time consisting of Neoshadows led by a Novashadow, and Attis brought Solaris and Lunaria to bear as he closed his eyes whispering, "Solaris, Lunaria, give me strength…"

Opening his eyes, which changed to a fiery red, Attis engaged the Heartless. Dealing with the Neoshadows was easy, the only hard part was the Novashadow, the stronger variant of the Neoshadow. The Novashadow was stronger and faster, but it wasn't much of a match against Attis' determination.

When the Novashadow fell, Attis just turned around and headed for the cases that held Noel and Coco. Bringing Solaris up, he was about to smash Noel's case when Mayluna's voice said, "Oh my, I wouldn't do that if I were you Attis~!"

Attis whipped around, and say Mayluna standing there with a smile on her face. Attis turned to face her as he thought, 'Damn it, what rotten timing!'

"Can't have you rescuing Mermaid Princesses now, can we? Those two need to stay here for just a bit longer, okay?" Mayluna said with a giggle. Attis wasn't amused as he said, "You better get out of my way Mayluna, or else!"

"Or else what Attis?" Mayluna asked, her childishness completely gone, replaced by dead seriousness, "You may have gotten Solaris and Lunaria back, but that doesn't mean that you should get cocky!"

That made Mayluna hold out her hands, and what appeared in them were two Soul Eaters, something which made Attis remember that she was serious when she dual wielded. Then Mayluna charged and Attis blocked her initial strike, but it sent him skidding back, which made him think, 'Damn, she's still as strong as always, but that felt stronger than usual though…'

"Aww, is the little Keyblade wielder scared after that first push?" Mayluna taunted. Attis ran forward shouting, "You wish!" and slammed Solaris right at Mayluna, making her block as she made a swipe with her free blade, which made Attis block with Lunaria.

Then the two parted and Attis went on the offensive in an instant, trying to get past Mayluna's defenses until he pointed Solaris point blank at her shouting, "Fira!"

A fireball shot out and exploded right on Mayluna as Attis fell back. When the dust cleared, Attis saw that Mayluna had blocked the spell with both her Soul Eaters, though the blades looked singed. Mayluna shook her head and said, "My, we must be getting desperate, aren't we Attis?"

"Yeah, keep telling that to yourself." Attis spat as he went for another round. That's when the Red Pearl in Aqualis was starting to flash, but Attis didn't pay any attention, as Mayluna had pushed him back and went on the counter offensive. That resulted in Attis getting a few shallow wounds that weren't too serious. He winced as Mayluna said, "Hmm, first blood here Attis."

Attis didn't say anything as he shook off the pain and went after Mayluna again. She just laughed and another exchange of blades was made before they parted again. It made Attis frustrated that his attacks weren't getting through, and thought, 'Maybe I'll have to use a few moves that one of the masters taught me.'

Changing his fighting style, Attis caught Mayluna off guard for an instant when he started using kicks, which allowed him a few blows in with his Keyblades. That didn't last however as Mayluna caught on to his little strategy and things started to go to a stalemate again, with Attis sporting a cut shoulder.

However, Attis wasn't the only one sporting an injury, as Mayluna winced from her side, a particular blow that Attis managed to get in. That's when Mayluna said, "Hmph, stubborn as always. Well, I guess that's you'd expect from one of the Keyblade's chosen."

That's when Mayluna cast a Curaga spell on herself, healing the damage to her side, while Attis did the same with a Cura spell, though some of his wounds were still there. Attis was about to attack again when he heard Gaito's voice say, "What's going on here?"

Gaito walked out from one of the side passages beside the throne and saw Mayluna and Attis facing each other. Behind a pillar, Attis thought he saw someone else, but his attention was diverted to Gaito and Mayluna as he made a dash towards Noel's case before anyone could react.

Attis made the motion to break it when Heartless appeared and surrounded him. Gaito couldn't help but say, "If it isn't the Keyblade wielder. What are you doing in my castle, trying to steal one of my possessions?"

"You must have a sick mind, calling Noel and Coco your possessions." Attis sneered, "I'm going to rescue these two and get them out of here!"

"Are you sure that you can do that?" Mayluna asked him, "You can break the glass now, and the Heartless will devour you. Or you can run and leave the Mermaid Princesses with us. What will it be?"

"Grrr…" Attis growled. He wasn't about to just leave when he heard a voice in his head, 'Attis, please get out of here!'

'Noel?' Attis thought to himself. Noel replied, 'Yes Attis, it's me. Please get out of here now, while you still can. Coco and I appreciate you coming to rescue us, but you need to escape, so you can come back here with the others!'

That made Attis' decision a lot harder, but eventually, he ran for he nearest entrance, slicing Heartless apart that were in his way. Mayluna ordered the rest of the Heartless, "After him!" and they ran after Attis in pursuit.

Gaito seemed a bit amused and said, "How interesting, for the Keyblade wielder to just turn and run when the Mermaid Princesses are right there."

"He probably was convinced to retreat somehow." Mayluna replied as she made both Soul Eaters vanish. Behind the pillar Sara thought, 'So it is Attis. He survived after all, but I wonder…'

* * *

_Gaito's castle – West Wing_

Attis had run from the Heartless, and Aqualis was now pointing him in the direction of the closest exit, but all it lead him to was an empty room. He couldn't help but curse silently as the Heartless that chased him started to file in. He quickly fought back against them and before more could enter, Attis closed the door and barricaded it on instinct, which didn't matter since the Heartless could just teleport into the room somehow.

That's when he got the idea to use a high powered spell to break through the wall opposite to the door, and he took out Aqualis and put the three Keyblades together. Holding the three with both his hands, Attis pointed the Keyblades towards the wall as he thought, 'I sure hope this works…'

Then Attis shouted, "Flare!" and all of a sudden, a blast of energy erupted from his Keyblades as the Red Pearl gave off a strong glow. The energy shot towards the wall, and what came next was a very big explosion that pretty much shook the castle, and Attis saw that it led to the outside. The water started to fill in and Attis forced himself to swim outside to escape as his Keyblades vanished, and the Red Pearl going back into its necklace.

'I can't believe this…' Attis thought to himself as he struggled to swim out, due to the low energy he had thanks to the Flare spell.

* * *

_Underwater_

Meanwhile, Lucia, Hanon, Rina, and Caren were watching the castle make it's retreat after rescuing Caren from the black mist when they saw the explosion, making Hanon shout, "What the heck was that?"

Looking towards the source, they saw Attis swim out of the castle, just before it disappeared, making Lucia say, "Look, there's Attis! He just came out of the castle!"

The four, plus Caren's dolphin friend, swam over to where Attis was floating, which was near a rock wall. When they got there, they saw that Attis looked like he was beating himself up, which concerned them as Lucia asked, "Attis…?"

"…So close…" Attis muttered. Caren heard that and asked, "What was that?"

Attis looked at them, and the girls saw that he looked angry and upset. Then he hissed, "I was this close," he put his thumb and index finger together, leaving a tiny spot, "To getting Noel out of there, but I had to frickin' run!"

The four Mermaid Princesses were shocked at that as Attis punched the rock wall in frustration. Caren grew concerned and asked, "Is Onee-chan alright Attis?"

Lucia, Hanon, and Rina looked at him, with Rina the one that wanted to know the most besides Caren. Sighing in frustration Attis replied, "She's fine Caren, but Gaito's put her in some kind of glass case in the throne room, looking like she's on display or something."

That got the Mermaid Princesses angry and Attis added, "That's not all thought. Caren, I also saw Coco in a case next to Noel's."

"No… Coco too?" Caren said in shock. Lucia asked, "Coco?"

"She's the South Pacific Mermaid Princess Lucia." Attis replied. Hanon said, "No, if they captured her too, then all that leaves is the Indian Ocean Mermaid Princess…"

Caren got angry as she said, "Not only Onee-chan, but Coco too… Gaito's going to pay when we see him again!"

"Tch, it's going to be harder to find Gaito's castle, after my little infiltration stunt." Attis said sourly. Caren tried to assure him, "Don't worry Attis. At least we know that the two of them are fine, even in the state they're in."

Attis was still upset over the whole deal, but he had calmed down and said, "I guess you're right Caren."

Then suddenly Caren looked him in the eye and said, "How on earth could you let them go through with that plan?"

The sudden change surprised Lucia, Hanon, and Rina, as well as Attis who could only respond with an, "Eh?"

"Next time you four plan something like this, tell me first! You got that?" Caren told them. Attis couldn't help but feel a bit irritated at that and he said, "You know, we would've loved to tell you, but how the heck we could've done that. We don't have anyway to contact you, unless our pearls can serve as walkie-talkies for all I know."

Caren gave a sigh and said, "I guess you have a point there. But still, what you do is just too dangerous, especially with you Attis, and I can't bear to just watch! So please, the next time you four plan something, tell me first, alright?"

"Fine." Attis replied. Caren gave a nod and abruptly took off, making Lucia say, "She sure looked angry there for a second…"

"Hmph, she's still the same as ever thought; after we saved her, she doesn't even thank us! It's disgusting." Hanon said with a pout.

"Well, these things just happen." Rina said, "Come on, we'd better get back to the surface and call it a day."

"Ah, that's right!" Lucia said, remembering Kaito. All of them nodded and the four of them just swam off. Meanwhile, Caren was busy thinking as she said, "We may have a long way to go, but they sure can think up of a plan…" She smiled to herself as her dolphin friend continued to swim forward.


	32. Hard Dreaming

Chapter 32 – Hard Dreaming

_Attis' apartment_

One morning, Attis was busy having breakfast when Mogie came out of his room all excited. The Moogle flew over to Attis and said with excitement, "I've finally finished it!"

Raising an eyebrow, Attis asked, "What are you talking about Mogie?"

"Come and see!" Mogie told him excitedly. Knowing that Mogie's hyped up state wouldn't go away anytime soon, Attis decided to follow the Moogle over to his room.

When Attis went inside, the first thing he saw that it looked like a small flat screen TV attached to a small box and what looked like a hand scanner. Looking at it, Attis asked, "What is it Mogie?"

"Presenting the Memory Dream Viewer, created by yours truly kupo!" Mogie told Attis with confidence.

"The Memory Dream Viewer?" Attis asked, sounding more skeptical than curious. Mogie ignored the skepticism and explained, "Simply put kupo, this machine allows dreams to be projected onto the little screen for everyone to see kupo. However kupo, the dream has to be a few days old, since dreams become obscured as the days pass kupo. The sooner the day the better, and the machine can record it to its memory too kupo!"

"How…interesting…" Attis said, not sure what to make of it. He asked, "How did you make it Mogie?"

"I used the parts of that contraption you brought with you a while ago kupo!" Mogie replied. Attis looked around, and the contraption that he took when Hanon and Rina defeated Eriru was nowhere in sight. Mogie explained, "I used every bit of it to make this kupo!"

That puzzled Attis since that contraption was big, and the Memory Dream Viewer, well, wasn't. He shook his head and said, "So what now?"

"Let's head to Pearl Piari kupo. I told Hippo about this kupo, so could you carry it for me kupo?" Mogie replied. Attis nodded and said, "I guess so, I don't have any work today."

Then Attis picked up the MDV device and put it in the box that Mogie told him to put it in, since it was right beside it. After that, Attis told Mogie to go with the device since the top would be open, and then Attis left his apartment after getting dressed.

At the same time, Rina had just got out of her apartment with a box in her hands. Attis heard her coming out and he turned to her saying, "Hey Rina, what's up?"

"Not much, just going over to Pearl Piari to give something to Lucia." Rina replied, holding up what Attis saw as a shoebox in her hands. Attis said, "Huh, guess that means we're heading to the same place then."

As the two of them walked together, Rina got curious as to what's in the box and asked, "So, what's in the box Attis?"

"Oh just Mogie and a machine he made." Attis replied in a casual manner. As if on queue, Mogie popped his head out and said, "Hi there, Rina-hime kupo. It's been a while, hasn't it kupo?"

"Uh, sure…" Rina replied, a bit surprised at Mogie's appearance from inside the box. Then Attis asked, "What about you?"

"Oh, these are just a pair of autographed Jennifer Houston sneakers that I won in a contest." Rina told him, though Attis noticed that she sounded quite disappointed for some reason. All he said was, "Okay…"

Not wanting to delve into it, the two continued to walk together silently until they reached Pearl Piari.

* * *

_Pearl Piari – Lucia's room_

Inside Pearl Piari, Lucia and Hanon were busy talking about Lucia's weird dream, where she dreamt of Rina giving her a pair of Jennifer Houston autographed sneakers. When Hanon asked Lucia what it was all about, Lucia replied, "Well, it was a dream where Rina was all dressed up as this lady of the lake and gave me a pair of Jennifer Houston's autographed sneakers."

"What the? Rina dressed up as the lady of the lake? And giving you autographed sneaker?" Hanon asked in disbelief as she kept on shuffling the Mermaid Cards, "If I remember right, the other day you were looking at a magazine that had them as a prize in some contest, right?"

Lucia sighed and said, "Yeah, and I really wanted them, but…"

That's when Hippo barged in with a crystal-like stone and asked, "L-Lucia-san, what's with this stone?"

After Lucia told Hippo that she found it on the beach, Hippo went on to explain that it was called a Dream Stone, and simply, when you put it under your pillow when you went to sleep, the dream that you would have will come true. Hanon had a hard time believing that as she said, "So then that would mean…the strange dream Lucia saw will become true?"

Then Hanon turned to Lucia and asked, "That would mean you'll be getting a pair of Jennifer Houston autographed sneakers?"

Lucia shook her head and replied, "There's no way that's going to happen… I already got a consolation prize from the contest in that magazine…but I'm more worried to what happened next in the dream I had."

"Oh, what that Lucia?" Hanon asked. Lucia told her, "After Rina gave me the pair of autographed sneakers, Attis showed up wearing weird traveling clothes and was holding a box. When I asked him what was in it and he showed me, and what popped out of it was Mogie on a spring saying in an eerie voice, 'Let me see your heart kupo!' That scared me so bad that I ran away, and the next thing I knew I woke up."

"…You can't be serious Lucia." Hanon said, now looking at Lucia in disbelief. That's when Rina popped in saying, "Hello Lucia, Hanon."

Rina walked in as Lucia said, "Ah Rina, good morning!"

"Lucia, if I remember correctly, you're a huge fan of Jennifer Houston, right? I'll give these to you." Rina said, holding up the box. Then she went into a pout and said, "I lost in the contest that was held in the marketplace…"

"You lost?" Hanon asked, looking confused.

"What I really wanted was the silver prize, the plasma TV, but I ended up getting the gold prize…" Rina replied, still in a pout.

Lucia realized something and when Rina opened the box, Lucia said, "It really happened! It's Jennifer Houston's autographed sneakers! Then…that means that I really did have a premonition."

"Premonition? What the heck are you talking about?" Rina asked, walking up to them. Hippo answered that for her saying, "Dream Stones like this are normally at the bottom of the sea, but…seeing one wash up here is truly a rare find."

Then Lucia took the stone from Hippo saying, "The Dream Stone that makes the dreams I see come true, huh…" Suddenly she realized something and asked, "Um Rina, do you know where Attis is by any chance?"

"He's downstairs talking to Nikora-san and Taki-san." Rina replied. Hanon asked Lucia, "You really don't think that Attis will show up with Mogie in a box on a spring now, would you?"

Lucia didn't have a chance to reply as Attis showed up at the door saying, "Hi girls, what're you doing?"

Seeing the box in Attis' hands, Lucia started to panic as she slowly backed away asking, "Um Attis, what's in the box?"

Rina was confused by Lucia's actions, as well as Attis as he walked forward. Hanon and Hippo however, were curious about the box as Hanon asked, "Uh, what's in the box Attis?"

"Maybe Mogie should tell you that one, he's the one that wanted to bring this over to me." Attis replied. He put down the box, and Mogie popped out of it, making Lucia nearly flip out, while everyone else just looked at her oddly. Mogie shook it off and said, "Hello everyone kupo. Attis and I came over to show everyone something interesting, and here it is kupo!"

Attis took out the Memory Dream Viewer device and put it on Lucia's table, making them wonder what it was. Mogie went up to it and explained, "This is something that I made in my spare time, called the Memory Dream Viewer device, or MDV device for short."

"Memory Dream Viewer device?" Rina asked, wondering what that meant.

Mogie explained the devices functions to them just as he did to Attis and the Moogle asked, "So kupo, did anyone have a dream recently kupo?"

"Um, I did…" Lucia said sheepishly for some reason. Mogie gave a nod and said, "Then put your hand on this," She put her hand on the scanner, and Mogie flipped the switch. The machine came to life and it started to scan her hand, while a mechanical voice said, "Now retrieving most recent dream."

After that, something started to play and everyone came over to take a look. The device was showing Lucia's dream and when it came to Rina as the lady of the lake, Attis couldn't help but laugh and say, "Hoh boy, that dress certainly isn't you at all Rina."

"I have to agree with Attis on that one." Hanon added with a giggle. All Rina said was, "Blame Lucia, it's her dream."

It went on to show the two prizes, and Attis saw Rina pout again when the plasma TV came up. However, the interesting part was when they saw Attis come by and Mogie popping out of the box. After it finished, Attis said, "Well, to be frank, that was one part premonition, one part hilarious, and one part just plain weird."

Mogie just went over to Lucia pillow and started crying into it saying, "I can't believe that's what Lucia-hime thinks of me kupo!"

"Aww, look what you did Lucia, you made the poor Moogle cry." Hanon said, finding the whole thing to be cute.

Attis just sighed and said, "Well, I might as well get going now, I still have to go to work."

"Okay." The three Mermaid Princesses said simultaneously. Attis just nodded and left the room saying, "I'll leave Mogie in your care."

* * *

_Coastline - lighthouse_

After work, Attis was about to leave for home when all of a sudden, the Red Pearl started glowing, and Attis knew that someone was in trouble. Giving a sigh, he rushed over to where the Red Pearl led him to, changing into his black cloak in the process and summoning Aqualis on instinct.

When he reached the lighthouse, Heartless suddenly showed up, surrounding him. Looking around, Attis saw that they consisted of Green Requiems, Large Bodies, and Search Ghosts. Irritated, Attis swung at a Green Requiem, destroying it and shouting, "Get out of my way!"

The Green Requiems Attis took out first, then went after the Large Bodies after a few of them tried to crush him by jumping. After taking care of the Search Ghosts, Attis looked around and was about to go on when more Heartless popped up, this time consisting of Search Ghosts and a few Wyverns.

Giving a groan, Attis was about to go for another round when he heard Kaito's voice say, "W-wh-what the heck are those things?"

Turning to the source, Attis saw Kaito standing there, with Hippo beside him for some strange reason. Attis was about to say something when a Wyvern swooped down and tried to claw him, which he dodged. Meanwhile, Kaito recognized Attis as the one fighting and saw Aqualis too, so he shouted, "Attis? What the heck is going on here? What the heck are those things?"

A Search Ghost made its way over to Kaito and the Heartless tried to attack him, but Attis managed to dash over in time and give the Search Ghost a hard whack, sending it flying back to the other Heartless. Attis stood in front of him saying, "What are you doing here Kaito?" Meanwhile he thought, 'Shoot, when did Kaito get here?'

"I came here with Lucia," Kaito said. He looked around and asked, "Have you seen her around? I can't find her…"

In the meantime, Hippo thought, 'So those are Heartless… They're weirder-looking than I expected…'

Not having much of a choice, Attis asked while sending another Search Ghost flying back, "Kaito, do you know how to fight with a sword?"

"…Well, a bit when my friends dragged me over to watch a few kendo club matches." Kaito replied. Attis figured that was good enough and threw Aqualis over to him saying, "Here, use this to defend yourself."

"W-what?" Kaito shouted, holding Aqualis properly. In two flashes, Attis summoned Solaris and Lunaria, surprising Kaito but Attis just went back on the offensive. He left Kaito by himself with Hippo as he took on the Heartless, stunned but snapped out of it as another Search Ghost came his way, and he whacked it with Aqualis.

Attis was mainly taking care of the Wyverns since they were the bigger threat, thought he had to beat away Search Ghosts since they tried to grab him and use their toxin on him. Kaito was having a hard time since two Search Ghosts had made their way over to him, attracted by the Keyblade.

Suddenly, as Attis got rid of the last Wyvern, the foghorn started making noise, which made Attis, Kaito, and Hippo wince at the noise as Attis shouted, "Is that coming from the lighthouse?"

"I think so!" Kaito shouted back. Luckily for them, the Search Ghosts didn't seem to like the foghorn noise either as they seem to hold their heads in pain. Attis and Kaito endured it and started whacking Search Ghosts. However it didn't last as the noise suddenly stopped, making them wonder what happened.

Up above, Caren had just attacked Maria from behind and knocked her unconscious. She folded her arms and said, "Jeez, sometimes I have to take care of them too, I guess."

That's when Caren heard fighting from below and looked over the edge to take a look, and saw Attis and Kaito fighting off the Search Ghosts. Her eyes narrowed since the fog was obstructing her view a bit as she whispered, "That's Onii-chan who's fighting, but who's the person with him…?"

The reason she didn't see it before she went up the lighthouse was because she went through the back door of the lighthouse, but she did hear a scuffle as she went in. Anyway, Caren made her way back down carefully thinking, 'As much as I want to help him, I'll just be in the way, so I'll leave before the Heartless see me…'

With the foghorn being silenced, the Search Ghosts returned to normal, and to add to that matter, Shadows started to pop out of the ground, surprising Kaito. Attis turned and saw that Kaito was hurt a bit, and he pointed Lunaria towards him whispering, "Cure!"

The healing spell did it's work as Attis said, "Kaito, take care of the Shadows while I'll handle these Search Ghosts."

Kaito didn't have a clue what Attis was talking about, but he was sure that Attis was referring to the black Heartless that popped out of the ground and started attacking them. Soon, all of the Heartless was defeated, and both Attis and Kaito were panting; Kaito much more than Attis.

Catching his breath, Kaito asked, "W-what were those things Attis?"

"They're called Heartless Kaito," Attis replied, breathing deeply, "Simply put, they're creatures of darkness that devour hearts. I know that doesn't make much sense to you Kaito, but all I can say is that those things are very bad news."

"Uh, sure…" Kaito replied, not sure what to make of that. Making Solaris and Lunaria disappear, Kaito gave back Aqualis to Attis before he made the Keyblade disappear too. Taking off his cloak, Attis said, "Mind if you don't say anything about this to anyone? It's hard enough explaining to the few people that did find out."

Kaito took a deep breath before saying, "I won't say anything, it's not like anyone would believe me. Honestly, this sounds like something coming out from a manga or a game, with these Keyblades and Heartless and stuff."

"Sorta like mermaids huh?" Attis poked.

"Got me there." Kaito replied. Then Attis looked around and asked, "You said that you were with Lucia. Where is she?"

That reminded Kaito as he too looked around and the both of them saw that Hippo had vanished on them as well. He replied, "Shoot, where did she go? I told her to stay put!"

"Want me to help you look?" Attis offered.

Kaito gave a nod and replied, "I'd appreciate it Attis. Thankfully, the fog's starting to clear up, so we'll be able to see well."

Attis just nodded and the two went off to search for Lucia, which took them a while. Then as the day waned, Attis suggested looking around the beaches, and Kaito agreed, since Lucia didn't seem to be in the area much longer.

* * *

_Beachside_

Around sunset, Attis and Kaito reached the beach, where they saw Lucia standing with Hippo by the water's edge, with Hanon and Rina standing a bit far back. Attis saw the look on Kaito's face as he ran over to Lucia, looking a bit angry.

As Attis walked towards them, he heard Lucia say, "Ah, Kaito. Thanks for saving Hippo back there."

"Lucia, where did you go? I told you to definitely not to move!" Kaito said, sounding more irritated than angry, "I was really worried and looked everywhere for you! Even Attis had to help!"

Lucia looked sad at that as she said, "Sorry…Kaito. Actually…I had a dream where you ended up hating me, so I thought it would turn into reality and got scared…" Attis looked at Lucia oddly and thought, 'Is it because of the Dream Stone?'

Kaito turned his back to Lucia as Lucia tried to say something, but Kaito beat her to the punch and said, "It seems you believe one of those old myths that if you see someone you like in your dream, then whatever happens in it will happen in real life, huh…"

Attis raised an eyebrow at that Lucia blushed at that and fiddled with her words in embarrassment. Kaito turned around with a smile saying, "Just kidding! During our classic literature class, our teacher was saying something like that, right?"

That's when Kaito looked out at the ocean and spotted something peculiar, making Lucia ask, "What's the matter, Kaito?"

Turning to Lucia, Kaito said with an angry face, "Lucia! You were lying, weren't you?"

Confused, Attis wondered about that as Kaito pointed it out, "Look over there!" Attis and Lucia turned to see Hippo swimming as Kaito said, "Your pet penguin _can_ swim!"

Shaking his head, Attis walked over to where Hanon and Rina were standing and said, "Hi you two, both of you sure looked tired. I take a wild guess that you had a run-in with something unpleasant?"

"You can say that again," Hanon said with a sigh. Rina explained, "We went diving for Dream Stones, but all we got was an attack by the Black Beauty Sisters."

"Ouch, that's not something you'd want to catch." Attis said. The two girls couldn't help but giggle at that as they watched Lucia and Kaito on the beach.

* * *

_Attis' apartment_

After that, Attis went over to Pearl Piari with the others to pick up Mogie, and for some reason, he left the MDV device behind. After reaching the apartments and saying goodnight to Rina, the two entered and prepared themselves for bed.

Reviewing the attack earlier, Attis thought, 'Hmm, it feels just like that time back at the southern island. Those Heartless were sent to stall me somehow, and roping Kaito into it was just an accident…or was it? I still remember Gaito's face back at the North Pacific Palace, and I'm sure his and Kaito's faces were similar. Only the hair and eye color were different, I think.'

Shaking his head, Attis just sighed and figured that things will just fall into place somehow. He just got himself ready for bed and was about to go to sleep, when he heard Aine's voice say, 'You sure had a hard day, didn't you Onii-chan?'

Attis was about to reply when he noticed something about Aine's voice and asked, "Is it just me, or is your voice stronger than before Aine?"

"Yes, and that means I'll be able to leave this capsule soon." Aine replied. Attis just nodded and said, "Alright then, goodnight Aine."

'Goodnight Onii-chan.' Aine said happily.

Not sure what to make of it, all Attis did was get into bed and go to sleep, but not before hearing Mogie say, "What the kupo? Did she just move kupo?" Attis just chuckled and went to sleep.

* * *

Note: Whew, chapter 32 up and thank you for the reviews so far, I really appreciate them. Oh and to answer the question for Heartless Killer, this first half of the Mermaid Melody story won't have any Disney characters, but for Pure, that's still up in the clouds.


	33. Breaking the Ice

Chapter 33 – Breaking the Ice

_Beachside – rocky coast_

Walking along the rocky coastline, Attis was busy looking out for Heartless, with not much luck. The days' have been slow, and Attis started to wonder what Mayluna was planning, since it wasn't like her to dawdle on something for so long.

Shaking his head, Attis continued to walk along the rocky path, until he heard someone sigh not far from where he was standing. Looking around, he didn't see anyone until he heard a voice say, "Ha, this is so tiring…"

Recognizing that voice as Maria's, Attis looked around until he spotted her leaning on a rock, looking tired. He heard her say, "…I'm still loyal to Gaito-sama, but the Black Beauty Sisters," Attis heard what sounded like a spitting sound before he heard her continue, "I don't know if I can handle their treatment anymore. I tried to help them to get back into Gaito-sama's good graces, but that backfired, thanks to whoever hit me from behind…"

From what Attis was hearing, Maria sounded a bit depressed, and he had an odd feeling that he should go over there and say something, but he stopped himself. Attis was about to walk away and go back to hunting Heartless when he suddenly heard a soft sob, and he turned around to take a look.

Seeing Maria have tears coming out of her eyes, Attis heard her say, "Ugh, doesn't Gaito-sama care for me, or any of us for that matter? I just don't know what to do anymore…"

Something in Attis' heart told him that he really should say something, and it didn't help that Solaris and Lunaria's voices popped up in his mind saying at the same time, 'Why don't you help the poor girl?'

"…But isn't she a water demon?" Attis asked in a whisper, sounding confused. Lunaria was the one to answer him saying, 'But she looks so sad Attis, so shouldn't you go help her?'

Solaris added, 'Yeah, ain't you a man Attis? And isn't it a man's job to cheer up a lady, enemy or otherwise?'

Attis knew that they were going to keep pushing him to go see her, and so he thought, 'Okay, okay, I'll go check and see what's wrong, jeez…'

All he heard was twin smirks before Solaris and Lunaria's voices vanished from his mind. Attis slowly walked up to Maria and asked, "Is there something wrong miss?"

Maria was surprised by the sudden voice and whipped around. When she saw Attis, Maria instantly recognized him saying, "You're the Keyblade wielder!" She created a number of ice shards in her hands as Attis held his hands up saying, "Hey, I'm not here to attack you or anything! I was just passing by when I heard you talking to yourself."

For some reason, Maria got embarrassed as the ice in her hands disappeared. She thought, 'Guh, out of everyone I know to see me in that state, it had to be the Keyblade wielder, an enemy, out of all people.'

Attis went down to sit on a rock nearby and said, "Look, I'm not here to fight or anything, just came by to see what was wrong, that's all."

"Hmph, as if I say anything to you Keyblade wielder." Maria said, reverting to her usual attitude. Attis couldn't help but feel a bit annoyed by that and he said, "You know, I have a name Maria. It's Attis, nice to meet you."

Putting a bit of annoyance into that last sentence aside, Maria was a bit surprised at Attis' somewhat non-aggressive attitude as she watched him a bit suspiciously. She asked, "If you're not here to fight, then what are you here for Key-, ahem, I mean Attis?"

"I was in the area, hunting stray Heartless, when I heard you talk to yourself." Attis replied. Maria couldn't help but blush slightly at that and thought, 'Shoot, then he must've heard everything!' She was about to do something when Attis casually said, "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone about what was going on, and if it helps, I find the Black Beauty Sisters to be creepy as well."

Maria raised an eyebrow at that and said, "Really…?" She covered her mouth after realizing what she had just said as Attis just laughed at Maria's expression and said, "Believe me, when I first saw them, let's just say my opinion of them wasn't exactly high."

For some reason, Maria started to get comfortable around Attis as he told her exactly how he felt about the Black Beauty Sisters, and said that she and the other Dark Lovers seemed to have more decent qualities than them. He casually asked, "So, how's working with Mayluna working out for you?"

That got Maria curious as she asked, "Why do you want to know? Isn't she your enemy?"

"In more ways than one Miss Maria." Attis replied, and Maria's cheeks turned slightly pink at being addressed so formally, "She may act nice, but I know for a fact that she's crazy half the time too. I'm sure you've noticed it."

Thinking about it, Maria did find Mayluna's behavior a bit odd during the times she spent with him. She muttered, "It's like she has multiple personalities…"

"True enough," Attis said, "She's been an enemy of the Keypers for a long time, so we have a lot of data on her." Then he whispered low enough that Maria couldn't hear him, "If you still consider her a human anyway…"

Giving out a sigh, Attis got up saying, "You look much better now, and I must say, crying ruins that cute face of yours Miss Maria."

That made Maria blush and she thought, 'No one's ever called me cute before, not even Gaito-sama…' Meanwhile, Attis was about to leave when Solaris and Lunaria came back saying, 'Hey, you're not done yet!'

'What the heck do you mean by that?' Attis thought with annoyance as he stopped mid step. Solaris replied, 'We mean, you're not done cheering up Maria!'

Lunaria added, 'You're supposed to take her out to see the sights! You don't have any work today, so it's fine!'

'Yeah, you haven't had a date in a while, and you should go out more!' Solaris said, and Attis could hear Lunaria making an agreement sound at that. Attis sighed and thought, 'I thought I told you two, I'm not interested in that sort of thing! Not what after what happened…'

That's when Maria asked, "Uh, are you alright?" Attis whipped around and replied, "Um sure, just a bit sidetracked, that's all…"

'He's defenseless, so I should be able to attack him now, but why can't I?' Maria thought as she stood in front of Attis. Meanwhile, Solaris and Lunaria kept on bugging him about the whole date issue that to make them stop, Attis thought, 'Ugh, fine I'll take her out for crying out loud!'

'That's our favorite Keyblade wielder!' Both Solaris and Lunaria said together before their voices faded from his mind. Attis mentally shook his head before he looked at Maria and said, "Why don't I take you out for a bit. Just forget about this whole enemy business for today. You look like you need it."

Attis' offer surprised Maria, but then she thought, 'If I stick around with Attis, maybe I can get some information out of him about the remaining Mermaid Princesses…' She then replied, "Um sure, I'll take you up on that offer…"

Raising an eyebrow slightly, Attis took off his black cloak and made it vanish saying, "Well, let's get going. I don't think there's anymore Heartless around anyway."

Maria just raised her eyebrow before following Attis. He still had Aqualis in his hand as they walked, so that no Heartless could get the jump on them.

* * *

_City Streets_

Walking through the streets, Attis suggested going to a clothing store first, making Maria say, "What's wrong with what I'm wearing now?"

"Nothing, it's just that it does stand out from the crowd, and I don't think you want any of your friends to recognize you with me, do you?" Attis asked her.

Maria saw the point that he was making and replied, "Okay, so where do we go?"

"Let's head that way." Attis said, pointing to a shopping mall.

Later, the two came out of the mall with Maria wearing a crème colored skirt that reached down to her knees, a pale blue shirt with a dark blue jean coat over it, and a pair of blue-grey low heel shoes. Maria had to admit that it did look good on her and Attis followed her out saying, "Wow, you sure look great in that Miss Maria. You got quite a few looks from the guys in the mall…"

'…If only Gaito-sama would look at me the same way…' Maria mentally sighed. Then she asked, "So, where to next?"

"Hmm, let's see… How about we head somewhere to eat?" Attis suggested. Maria seemed to like it and thought, 'Maybe I could get some information out of him while we eat…'

"Sure, let's go and look around then." Maria replied. Attis nodded and the two of them looked for a restaurant to eat in.

When they came back out of a restaurant that they agreed on, Maria said, "Whew, that was good. I never knew human food could be so delicious."

"Yeah, it sure was." Attis agreed. He couldn't help but noticed that Maria actually seemed to look like that she was having a good time, and Maria herself didn't notice that she was actually enjoying it too. He then asked, "So, anywhere else you want to go?"

"Hmm…" Maria said, thinking about it. That's when a flyer flew by and Attis caught it, seeing that it was a flyer for that new amusement park that had opened. That's when he remembered that Rina had talked to him about it yesterday and she voiced her opinions on how it could be a possible trap. She had asked him to come along for additional help, and while he couldn't come with them, he would show up later to check it out.

Looking at Maria, he asked, "You want to go here next?"

When Attis showed her the flyer, she looked skeptical, though a part of her reasoned that if they went there, she would get a bit closer to him, resulting in a better chance to get some information out of him about the Mermaid Princesses. Pretending to think about it for a moment, she replied, "Well, I guess its okay…"

Attis gave Maria an odd look, since her answer didn't sound right to him for good reason. A part of him was still suspicious, so he kept his guard up around her despite acting lax. He nodded and said, "Okay, follow me then."

The two of them started walking with Maria following behind Attis as she thought, 'Let's hope this plan works…' However a part of her admitted that she was enjoying the day she was having right now.

* * *

_Amusement Park_

Attis and Maria arrived at the amusement park, which was in full swing since it's the opening day. The two went on various rides and played a few games, and Maria had to admit that it was fun in it's own way, and it was refreshing from the usual trend that went on in Gaito's castle. Now the two were walking around the park while eating ice cream, while Attis was on the lookout for Lucia and the others. Looking around, Attis asked, "Are you enjoying yourself Maria?"

"Huh? Oh yes, I am." Maria replied with haste. Attis just nodded and continued to look around, searching for any signs of the Mermaid Princesses.

Maria wondered what Attis was looking for when a pink light flashed from the distance and both Attis and Maria felt that it was Lucia's pearl reacting. Attis feigned ignorance, while Maria did the same as Attis asked, "Did you see something just now?"

"No, did you?" Maria lied.

"Nope, must've been seeing things." Attis lied back.

The two of them shrugged and kept on walking through the park. Attis looked in the direction of the light and thought, 'That was Lucia's pearl just now… What the heck happened?'

In another part of the amusement park, Lucia was drying herself off after the splash from one of the rides, when Hanon and the others showed up, with both Hanon and Rina showing concern, since they knew what had happened. Hanon didn't show it much since she was latched onto Taro's shoulder as Rina asked, "Are you alright Lucia?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Lucia replied. However, Rina wasn't listening as she thought about the amusement park being a trap of the water demons'. She looked around intently as Kaito's friends teased Lucia and Kaito a bit, when they heard an announcement saying, "Paging 'Attis Hale', a friend of yours is waiting for you by the main plaza. I repeat…"

Everyone looked up at the announcement in surprise, while Rina thought, 'Attis? So he is here, but what was that about a friend?'

Rina ran off towards the plaza, making Lucia shout, "Rina?"

Kaito gave a nod towards the plaza and said, "Attis is here right? Let's meet up with him."

Everyone else nodded and they went after Rina, who kept on running ahead of them. Hanon thought, 'Hmm, I wonder…'

Elsewhere in the park, Attis perked up at the announcement as Maria asked, "You were meeting someone here?"

"Not really," Attis replied, "I was, but change of plans made me cancel…"

"Is it because of me?" Maria asked.

Attis shook his head and told her, "Me meeting you on the beach was pure coincidence. I was just planning on combing the area for Heartless, that's all."

Maria just nodded, though she was thinking to herself a bit as Attis led her towards the plaza where they would meet this 'friend' that called out to Attis. He thought to himself, 'Could that have been Rina? Nah, she would be too busy trying to find clues about this park being a trap for her, Lucia, and Hanon. Let's just hope it isn't Mayluna…'

When the two of them reached the plaza, Attis looked around, but he didn't see or recognize anyone who was there. Looking around for a moment, he sighed in frustration and said, "Whoever made that announcement is-!"

"Welcome Attis-san!" A voice suddenly shouted, interrupting Attis.

The two looked towards the source and to their surprise, they saw Kuyo Sasami standing on what looked like a stage made out of wood. Attis wondered what the heck he was doing when he threw a wooden sword towards him and shouted, "Attis Hale, I challenge you to another spar! This time I'll beat you!"

A crowd was starting to gather and Attis found that he couldn't get away without going through the guests. Also, he would most likely be separated from Maria if he did try to get away, so he asked, "What the heck are you doing Sasami-san?"

"Don't worry; I got permission to do this from the park owners!" Kuyo assured him. That made Attis wonder, 'How did he manage that?'

Meanwhile, Maria looked at Kuyo and thought, 'What the heck is going on here? Does Attis know that person?'

Attis picked up the wooden sword and said to Maria, "Sorry, but this is just going to take a minute."

"Okay…" Maria replied. As she watched Attis go up on stage she thought, 'Well, this is a good chance to see how Attis fights at least…'

Little did she know, a Blue Rhapsody with a balloon attached was flying overhead, looking like it was on a scouting mission. When it saw her, the Heartless suddenly vanished through a Dark Corridor and out of sight. It was a Heartless that Mayluna sent to keep an eye on Maria after she had vanished, and when the Heartless told her what was going on, all she did was smile and giggle before brushing it off as nothing important.

On the stage, Attis got into position, as well as Kuyo as he said, "I'm not going to lose this time Hale-san. I've been training hard for this!"

Attis was a little irked that Kuyo was challenging him out of the blue like this, especially since a part of him was still wondering if Rina's suspicions about the park being a trap was true. Cracking his shoulders, Attis held up his sword and said, "Well, since you challenged me, let's see what you've got!"

"With pleasure!" Kuyo shouted as he made a dash towards Attis.

As the two fought, Lucia and the others showed up, and they saw Attis fighting Kuyo and Kaito said, "Huh, figured it was Sasami-san that called Attis out…"

"Why are the two of them fighting on that stage?" Lucia asked.

"Apparently, Sasami-san was still a bit sore over losing that one time against Attis." Kaito figured. Rina however, looked around for anything suspicious as she thought, 'Are they going after Attis too? He does have the Red Pearl, but I don't think they know his face, unless that Mayluna told Gaito…'

That's when Rina saw Maria, but thanks to the hat that she was wearing, Rina couldn't tell it was her. Then there was a thud noise, and a wooden sword flew into the air, and when everyone looked, they saw that Attis had his sword to Kuyo's throat, though he was panting heavily, as was Kuyo. Attis commented, "Ha, ha, looks like I win this time Sasami-san. But I gotta admit, you've gotten better than the last time."

Kuyo got up as Attis put down his sword, and there was a smile on his face as he said, "Well, it looks like you're still better though. I'd better get going, I have to go and meet someone. I'll see you later Hale-san!"

There was applause from the crowd that had gathered before they dispersed, seeing that the fight was over, but when Lucia and the others got on stage, they saw that Attis was already gone. They looked around, but didn't find him as Kaito asked, "Where did Attis go?"

Rina narrowed her eyes at the thought of Attis suddenly disappearing as she thought, 'Did the water demons already get him? No, we would've seen something…'

That's when she spotted something shining on a pole near the ferris wheel and she ran off to investigate. She thought, 'Maybe Attis saw it and went to investigate!'

In another part of the sea park, Attis was already walking away with Maria as she commented, "You sure took it easy on that human, didn't you?"

"It's not like I can go all out you know, I don't want to hurt the guy." Attis replied.

Maria just looked at Attis oddly as the two of them went over to the crepe stand to buy a snack. Maria had a vanilla, while Attis had a chocolate one. As the two were eating, Attis looked over to see that Maria was looking at her crepe before she took a bite. Her face brightened as she said, "Emm, this is good!"

"Glad you like it." Attis said casually as he took a bite out of his own crepe. The two were relaxing when Maria suddenly thought, 'Wait, what am I doing? He's the enemy, so I shouldn't be so relaxed around him!'

Suddenly the clouds were getting dark and the people started running for the exit. That made Attis and Maria jump up as Attis asked a passerby, "What's going on?"

"There's a tornado heading this way, and these weird black things just came out of nowhere!" A man shouted before he too was running towards the exit.

'Tornado? Black things? It must be the water demons and the Heartless!' Attis thought. He turned to Maria and said, "You'd better get out of here Maria. This might be the work of one of your comrades, so you should hightail it out of here for now, lest they get the wrong impression."

"Uh, sure…" Maria said as she ran towards the exit with the other visitors. As she ran she thought, 'Why would he be worried about something like that? He's the enemy, isn't he…?'

As soon as the place was empty, Attis saw Shadows pop out of the ground, along with a few Bit Snipers. Bringing out Aqualis on instinct, Attis charged forward saying, "Figures there'd be Heartless."

The Shadows and Bit Snipers were easy to handle, and when Attis cleared out all of them, he put Aqualis away, and brought out Solaris and Lunaria. He looked towards the tornado and headed in that direction, hoping that the Mermaid Princesses were safe. Attis thought, 'Looks like Rina was right about this one…'

Around the same time, Lucia, Hanon, and Rina were together after Kaito went to go help his friends. Rina had explained what was going on, and both Lucia and Hanon were relieved that Rina wasn't mad at them or anything. However, as the tornado approached, Heartless consisting of Shadows, Scarlet Tangos, and Powerwilds showed up and surrounded the girls. They were all tense when Solaris came flying and spinning, tearing through a number of Shadows and Powerwilds before lodging itself in the ground. The girls were surprised when Attis showed up saying, "You three alright?"

"Attis, where were you?" Rina blurted out before Lucia or Hanon could say anything. Attis ran over to grab Solaris, while pointing at the Heartless while shouting, "Thundara!"

Lightning bolts rained down from above, taking care of the other Heartless. Attis meanwhile, replied, "Sorry, was preoccupied for a while. I'm here now, so you three better get going!"

"Right, we need to take care of the water demons!" Lucia said, and both Hanon and Rina nodded before taking off. Attis watched them leave as Kaito and his friends came up to him, making Attis cause Solaris and Lunaria vanish in an instant. Seeing Attis, Kaito asked, "Attis, where's Lucia and the others?"

"I, uh, not sure," Attis blurted out on impulse, "They ran off, I think they were trying to leave the sea park, but…"

"Ugh, those three… Let's go find them." Kaito said. His friends nodded and the three of them ran off, leaving Attis by himself. That's when more Heartless showed up in the form of a pair of Zip Slashers, accompanied by various magic wielding Heartless. Re-summoning his Keyblades, Attis fell into his battle stance and said, "C'mon, bring it on!"

Taking care of the magic Heartless was easy; the hard part was the two Zip Slashers. Attis knew that they were tough to begin with, and they were actually coordinating their attacks, keeping Attis on the defensive. Blocking another strike that came from behind, Attis somehow got into a deadlock with the two Zip Slashers, Solaris and Lunaria holding back each one, and his strength was slipping. Attis couldn't help but mutter, "It'd take a miracle to take care of these two…"

Suddenly, Lucia, Hanon, and Rina started singing Kizuna, and the power of the song started to affect the two Zip Slashers, enabling Attis to push them back. The song weakened the two, but they were still formidable and Attis knew that magic wouldn't be effective against them as he cast a Cura on himself. He couldn't help but smirk and mutter, "Great timing girls…"

Soon, Attis managed to take care of the Zip Slashers, but there were a few tears in his clothes as he panted. He heard that Kizuna had ended, and that he was busy recovering, that he didn't notice a Neoshadow appearing from behind and was about to strike at his back. Suddenly, out of nowhere, an ice blast hit the Neoshadow, freezing it in place and surprising Attis, who whipped around at the sound of the ice freezing.

Gripping his Keyblades, Attis sliced the frozen Neoshadow in half, destroying it while looking around. He thought, 'The ice, I wonder…'

A bit far off, Maria was behind a building hiding from sight as she sighed after freezing the Neoshadow. She thought, 'Well, consider that a thank you for today Attis…' With that she vanished from the park, heading back to Gaito's castle.

As Solaris and Lunaria vanished from Attis' hands, Lucia, Hanon, and Rina showed up, and when they saw the tears in Attis' clothes, they grew concerned as Hanon asked, "Attis, what happened?"

"It's nothing, just some tough Heartless that came by." Attis told them, showing that despite the tears, he was alright thanks to the healing magic. That's when Lucia smiled and said with a cheer, "Alright, we did it, we saved the park!"

"We sure did!" Hanon said with a smile. The two turned to Rina as Lucia asked, "But Rina, if you thought the Sea Park was suspicious from the beginning, why didn't you tell us?"

"Sorry, sorry, you two looked like you were having so much fun, that I couldn't bear to tell you two. But, it looks like I actually ended up worrying you two in the end anyway…" Rina then turned to Attis and added, "Though I called him to come by as backup…"

"I'm sorry alright? Something unexpected came up and I had to come by later than usual." Attis apologized, holding his hands up.

Rina sighed and said, "Okay, I guess that's understandable. Anyway Lucia, Kaito got pretty mad at me for it; he told me not to worry you. That's why he chased me all the way to the ferris wheel."

Attis gave Rina a look and said, "Couldn't be subtle about it, huh Rina?"

"Uh…" Rina couldn't bring a response to that when a voice shouted, "Lucia!"

The four of them turned to see Kaito running up to them. Lucia went over to his side and the two talked, while Attis said, "Whew, this was one hard day, to say the least…"

"What do you mean by that Attis?" Hanon asked.

"Ah…it's nothing Hanon, just feeling a bit winded, that's all…" Attis managed to say while looking away from the two. He gave a sigh as he watched Lucia and Kaito interact, thinking if Maria got away safely, oddly enough.

* * *

Note: I must admit, this didn't come out exactly as I thought it would, for example, there was supposed to be a giant serpentine Heartless that actually conjured the tornado, and Attis would fight it, but that idea didn't just click. Not to mention the Maria idea didn't come smoothly as I thought it would, mostly because my interest somehow disappeared halfway through writing this chapter.

On another note, for Heartless Killer, I really can't say much about the timeline, but it does take place before the first Kingdom Hearts, which is why I can mention Ansem, because he's been around for a while. As for the Sara issue, I have plans for her, but all I can say is that she will be still alive by the end of this story, but not the way that you think.

Anyway, thanks for sticking with this story so far, and I hope I can finish this story by Christmas before I put up the Pure side of the story, where things will get really interesting, I hope…


	34. An Exploding Opportunity

Chapter 34 – An Exploding Opportunity

_Pearl Piari_

Attis was at Pearl Piari making a delivery of food from Maki's to Nikora, when someone stopped by. Attis took in the person's appearance and saw that it was a young girl that had light brown hair in a ponytail and pale brown eyes. She was wearing a dark, crème colored one piece uniform dress of some sorts that had yellow button seashells, and had a large green backpack on her back. Taki was there to introduce her saying, "This is the first time Hanon, Rina, and Attis have met her, right? She's a distant relative of mine who I take care of sometimes, an abalone spirit, Aurisumaris."

'Shoot, that's one complicated name…' Attis couldn't help but think, until Taki added, "We all just call her Auri."

'Well, that makes much more sense.' Attis thought as he gave a sigh.

Auri held up a hand and said, "YO! I wanna become a fortuneteller, and I've come so that Taki-senpai can at least teach me the basics!"

"In the undersea world, apprentices go to a senpai of the same profession for advice on how to achieve a full-fledged status." Taki explained to everyone, "And so today, she has come to her senpai in me."

"How interesting…" Attis mused. Auri nodded at that, but pointed to Attis and asked, "Taki-senpai, are you sure that you should say everything in front of this human though?"

"It's alright Auri; Attis here is the Keyblade wielder that everyone's heard about." Taki assured her.

Auri's eyes widened at that and she said, "Wow, the Keyblade wielder in the flesh! But shouldn't you uh, look older or something?"

"That's…complicated." Attis managed to answer, as Hippo freaked out and said in an ominous voice, "This day…has finally come, hasn't it?"

Attis, Hanon, and Rina looked at Hippo oddly, like he just declared that judgment day had just arrived, but to their surprise, Lucia was freaking out too. They heard her say, "What are we going to do, what are we going to do? Pearl Piari is going to be destroyed!"

"…What?" Attis said, confused, while Hanon asked, "Lucia, why are you so scared?"

Lucia turned to the three and explained, "Well, when Auri came last year to meet with Taki-san, something terrible happened."

"You see, she almost blew up the entire North Pacific Palace, shaking it quite horribly." Hippo finished for Lucia. Auri laughed and added, "Well, that is, I just made a few mistakes here and there while making a medicine, which kinda caused an explosion…"

"Eh, an explosion?" Hanon shouted in disbelief. Attis couldn't help but say, "An explosion from mixing medicine? Now that's just plan odd…"

Rina nodded at that and asked, "She's really that dangerous?"

"Yes, however, she's a different kind of delusional train gone berserk from Hanon." Hippo replied.

"Hey! What do you mean by that? That's rude you know?" Hanon said, putting her hands on her hips. Attis couldn't help but whisper, "Delusional berserk train…?"

"In Hanon-san's case, she has a target and goes straight towards it directly." Hippo explained, ignoring Hanon, while making Attis smirk at that, "But in Auri-san's case, there are no tracks! She's an unpredictable berserk train!"

'Hmm, kinda sounds like our resident fire expert back at the Keypers…" Attis thought to himself. That's when Auri came up from behind Hippo and said, "Hey penguin, did you say something?"

Hippo whipped around and stuttered, "N-no! N-nothing!"

"She sure sounds interesting, huh Hanon, Rina?" Attis whispered to the two. Hanon and Rina didn't know what to say to that as they thought they heard a hint of sarcasm in Attis' voice. That's when Taki said, "By the way, I haven't heard why you want to become a fortuneteller Auri."

That made Auri go on explaining how being a successful fortuneteller would be attractive to guys, which made Attis look at Auri oddly. Taki then gave Auri an assignment of figuring out what the weather was going to be like tomorrow. When Auri went to go outside and Lucia, Hanon, and Rina went to go look, Attis turned to Taki and Nikora and asked, "Is everything going to be alright? That Auri looks nice, but what I've heard so far sounds, you know…"

"Don't worry about a thing Attis; I'm sure everything will be alright." Taki assured him. Nikora wasn't so sure about that, while Hippo was still a bit freaked out.

Attis just shook his head and said, "Well, I'd better get going. I have to head back to Maki-san's place for the next delivery."

Nikora and Taki nodded, and when he reached the door, Lucia, Hanon, and Rina got out of the way as Attis said, "I'll see you three later, and good luck I guess…"

"Hey, Attis makes it sound like we're heading for trouble." Hanon said. Lucia looked at her and said with a sigh, "From what I know about Auri, we're probably going to need it…"

Outside, Attis found Auri putting her shoe back on as he said, "Well, it was nice meeting you Auri-san, and I hope that things will work out for you."

"Thanks, um…" Auri said, when she realized that she didn't know Attis' name. Attis introduced himself, "Attis Hale, but everyone just calls me Attis."

"Right, thanks Attis-san! I'd better get inside and tell Taki-senpai what the weather's going to be like tomorrow!" Auri said before she ran back inside Pearl Piari.

Attis just gave Auri one last look before he made his way back to Maki's restaurant.

* * *

_Beachside_

The next day, after the freak rain shower, Attis was walking home from work when he heard Auri's voice shouting, "Now, come one, come all to my bargain store!"

Looking over the edge of the elevated sidewalk down to the beach, Attis saw that Auri had set up what looked like an accessory shop. As he headed down, he heard what Auri was selling and wondered, 'Are they really magical accessories?'

That's when Lucia, Hanon, and Rina showed up around the same time wondering what Auri was doing. When Attis caught up to them, he looked at them with interest and asked, "What's Auri-san doing?"

"She's selling magical accessories, apparently." Rina replied.

"Magical…accessories?" Attis said, looking skeptical. Looking down at what Auri was selling, Attis couldn't really tell if they were magical or now. Lucia then explained to Attis in a whisper that Auri was selling these accessories that had various charms from love to friendship and whatnot.

As they saw Eriru and Yuri show up, Attis couldn't help but catch the girls' attention and said in a whisper, "I don't know about those ones that Auri's selling, but I'd rather trust Mogie when it comes to magical accessories.

Hearing that made the three Mermaid Princesses thought back to the rings that Mogie let them borrow to fight Heartless. They nodded as Rina quietly asked, "So Moogles are experts when it comes to magical accessories?"

"Uh huh, take a look at this," Attis took out a ring and the girls looked at it with interest, "This is a real magical accessory."

"What is it?" Hanon asked, admiring how beautiful the ring looked. Lucia had a similar look on her face, while Rina just looked at the ring with interest.

"It's called Ruby Moon," Attis stated, "It gives it's wearer protection against fire and ice magics, halving the damage, but it makes lightning magic a bit fatal to the wearer. This is an old accessory I found way back during my early days with the Keypers, and I carry it around as a habit."

The three Mermaid Princesses believed what Attis was telling them as they watched Auri sell what she had in front of her. Attis looked at the stuff himself and thought, 'Maybe I should've brought Mogie along, Moogles have an eye for merchandise…'

* * *

_Deserted island __–__ beachside_

'How the heck did I end up on spying duty…?' Attis couldn't help but feel confused as he watched from the treetops. Taki had somehow drafted him into watching over Auri search for the black pearl that she was supposed to find. Initially, Attis didn't want to, but Taki gave a convincing argument that the Heartless might show up while Auri was digging with Hippo. That sealed the deal, and he was lucky that his shift was over already; he didn't want Maki to start to wonder where he was disappearing off to.

Things were boring, though Yuri and Eriru showing up was a surprise; that put Attis on guard just in case Heartless were following them, but it was just a case of a casual stroll, and somehow Auri drafted the two to 'help' her look for the black pearl. One thing led to another, and now Attis was watching the three dig around the beach.

Throwing a small rock at Hippo, Attis managed to catch his attention and he walked over quietly so that it wasn't noticeable. Attis was on the other side of a bush as he asked, "So, how's helping coming along?"

"Terrible," Hippo huffed, "Though now it seems that Auri-san's working hard, due to falling for her own lie."

"She has a one track mind, doesn't she?" Attis looked a bit amused, looking at the digging trio.

"I guess you can say that…" Hippo mused, when Yuri called him over. He whispered, "I'll see you later Attis-san."

Giving a nod, Attis watched as Hippo walked over and was dragged along by Yuri and Eriru. Suddenly he heard a ruffling of bushes, and that put him on high alert as he scanned the foliage for any signs of the Heartless. Not taking any chances, he went deep into the woods, but he couldn't find anything other than the local wildlife. Shaking his head, Attis went back to the beach, only to see that Auri had found the black pearl and was now heading towards the lab area where she had set up.

Deciding that was the time to appear, Attis walked towards Auri while shouting, "Hey Auri-san, is everything alright?"

Auri jumped, nearly dropping the black pearl in her hands. Whipping around, she saw Attis walking towards her and she sighed a breath of relief, "Oh thank goodness, it's just the Keyblade warrior. Hey, don't sneak up on me like that!"

"Since when was I sneaking up on you?" Attis still had a space to close in on between them, so it really can't be called sneaking, "If I wanted to sneak up on you, I would've done so already."

Giving a huff, Auri just kept on walking forward as Attis walked up to her side until they reached the boiling potion. Attis took one look at the boiling concoction before asking, "Is this going to be safe?"

Attis was so concerned at the moment, that he didn't notice the Red Pearl flashing, though that's partly because it was hidden under the collar of his shirt. Auri waved off any concerns Attis had though, "Don't worry about it Attis-san, it's supposed to be boiled for a while anyway. Hmm, now that I think about it, the black pearl was just an ingredient for a medicine to make things transparent, huh?"

Dropping the pearl into the mix, the potion turned dark for a second, before it suddenly started glowing. Auri had a certain look on her face as she said, "This is bad! I think I left it boiling for too long!"

"Say what?" Attis only had a second to react as he gave the potion a sweeping kick that sent it flying while grabbing Auri and protecting her with his body. What they didn't see was that a Shadow suddenly appeared right on the spot where the potion was going to land. The moment the potion hit, the explosion occurred, and that disrupted the Black Beauty Sisters' song in the ocean below, but that's not the focus here.

Both Attis and Auri were coughing from the dust as the Keyblade wielder asked, "A-are you alright Auri-san?"

"Y-yeah, I'm fine." Auri managed to cough out as the two of them got up. In the distance, they heard Hippo's strained voice shout, "Auri! Are you okay-whoa?"

That's when Attis noticed that there was a dark shadow over them, and he heard Auri shout, "That's the biggest thing I have ever seen!"

Both Auri and Attis looked up, only to see a Shadow that's three times as large as Giga Shadows looking down at them. Attis took the brunt of the explosion, but thankfully he was still in good condition to fight. The dust cleared, and they saw that both Eriru and Yuri had been knocked out by the explosion, and Hippo had reverted back to his penguin form, looking beaten and from the look on his face, fainted too.

Attis instinctively summoned Aqualis to his hand, and immediately synchronized the Red Pearl to it. He looked at Auri and gave her simple instructions, "Auri, take cover in the trees while I take care of this. I'll try to get this Heartless' attention."

"T-that's a Heartless?" Auri looked at the giant Shadow that was looming over them. The Shadow made a swiping attempt at the two, which made Attis grab Auri and jump backwards. The Shadow started creeping towards the two and Attis quickly put Auri down, "Hurry up okay? Oh, and try to get Hippo and the others away too."

All Auri did was nod as Attis stared down the Shadow as he cast Scan. The data quickly came in and found nothing out of the ordinary. Just a Shadow that's grown to massive proportions and it's strength along with it. It's attack pattern is still the same, but with a lot of extra power added behind it. Attis found that Scan gave it a name, 'Titan Shadow', one that he found was very appropriate. He stopped thinking about it and pointed Aqualis at the Titan Shadow shouting, "Fira!"

The Fira spell impacted on the Titan Shadow, but it looked like it didn't do much damage. Constantly bombarding the Titan Shadow with Fira spells didn't help either, as the Heartless shrugged them off like it was nothing. Attis switched to Blizzara and Thundara spells respectively, but found that both of them didn't have much effect on it either, 'Damn, is this thing spell resistant or something?'

Attis knew that a Meteor or Ultima spell would've blasted the Heartless into dust, but since he didn't have that level of magic back yet, and the fact that he drained his magical reserves on the other three spells, he switched to a physical approach and charged the Titan Shadow. In the forest, Auri watched and she couldn't help but think, 'Is he mental or something? Charging right at something like that behemoth!'

Dodging the first strike, which hit the sand and left a crater, Attis started whacking at the Titan Shadow's face with his Keyblade, getting in every hit while dodging, but all it seemed to do is annoy the Titan Shadow as it started getting aggressive. One if it's swipes managed to hit Attis on his left side, knocking the wind out of him as he was sent flying. He landed in the water with a splash and the Titan Shadow turned to him and gave a twitch.

Catching his breath, Attis coughed as he held his side with his right hand, Aqualis in his left, 'T-this thing's strong!'

"C-Cura…" After the healing spell did it's work, Attis ran back towards the Titan Shadow, putting Aqualis on his back and summoning Solaris and Lunaria. One would think that he would've summoned them instead of Aqualis in the first place, but Attis had gotten used to summoning Aqualis, that it was the first Keyblade of choice on instinct. Anyway, Attis continued to fight the Titan Shadow, though a part of it got weird, where it looked like he was trying to wrangle it like a mad bull.

In the end, Attis managed to beat the Titan Shadow, though he looked like he wrestled with a bull at the rodeo when it was over. Watching the Heartless dissolve into black mist and disappearing, he looked over to the forest, where he saw Auri peaking out from behind a tree with wide eyes. He looked around and saw Hippo, Eriru, and Yuri in the same place that they were lying in before, 'This is going to take a while…'

That's when Auri came out of the forest and ran over to Attis saying, "Wow that was so cool! So that's a Keyblade wielder in action huh? Those are Keyblades right? Can I see them?"

'Yup, a very long while…' Attis thought to himself as Auri kept on asking questions and looking at his Keyblades.

* * *

_Attis__'__ Apartment_

"I'm home…" A tired looking Attis walked through the door, feeling like he just gotten through a long day at the office.

"Welcome back kupo…you alright Attis kupo?" Mogie popped out of his room only to see Attis plop down on the couch. A sigh escaped Attis' lips as he said, "I'm alright Mogie, just coming home from another day of Heartless wrangling…"

"…" Mogie didn't know how to respond to that, so the Moogle changed the subject, "You've gotten used to living on this world kupo. Don't you miss being back with the other Keypers kupo?"

Attis froze at that for a second before he looked out the window of his apartment, "Yeah, I do sometimes, but ten years passed already, and I'm sure that everyone's forgotten about me. Most likely I'm in the KIA list by now, so no one will be looking for me."

"I see kupo…" Mogie went back to his room, while Attis thought about what to do with his life now, 'Hmm, first thing's first, destroying Mayluna and helping the Mermaid Princesses for one is still a go. After that…I don't really know after that…'

There was a moment of silence before Attis jumped up thinking, 'That's right, I'd better update the data base before I forget! Hmm, if that's the case, maybe I'll be a librarian or something…but working at Maki-san's place is good too…'

Attis spent the rest of his time thinking about his future, but that got skewed when he got back into playing games on his PC. Hey, he may be a veteran Keyblade wielder, but he's still a teenager!

* * *

Note: A short chapter, and I admit, not one of my best ones. At times I'd get something down, and other times, I just want to chuck it out the window. Nevertheless, here's chapter 34, and I'm sorry if it's a bit bland chapter-wise. Oh, and if any of you readers read through the whole story again, and find anything out of place, like missing borders or odd grammar, please mention it to me. I've been hearing that has been doing something to people's stories unintentionally (I think) in those terms, so I would appreciate a heads up and I'll check in on it.


End file.
